


Rewrite Our Fates

by Rouko



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Apples of Idunn, Avenger Loki (Marvel), Avengers are not a team, BAMF James "Rhodey" Rhodes, BAMF Pepper Potts, BAMF Tony Stark, Bromance to Romance, Bucky Barnes Has Issues, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes Remembers, Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, Civil War Team Iron Man, Don't make the assassin nervous!, Eventual Loki/Tony Stark, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt Tony Stark, Loki & Tony Stark Friendship, Loki Posing as Odin, Loki is falling, Loki is shocked, Loki's so confused, M/M, Not A Fix-It, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, Odin (Marvel)'s Parenting, Odin tries not to be a dick, Odin's Ravens, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Loki (Marvel), Sensei Loki please!, Team as Family, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony needs more training, cinnamon rolls all of them, precious boys, sweet memories, they have so much in common
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-06-24 10:51:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 26,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15629169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rouko/pseuds/Rouko
Summary: From Odin's throne, Loki organizes the universe in a mad dash to prepare for Thanos's arrival. The last place he looks is to the young realm of Midgard hoping that if they aren't ready at least they can be helpful some way.... What he doesn't expect is to find a divide so great between the once Avengers, that he has a hard time deciding what to do about it.With the quantifiable 'Prince of Midgard' Tony Stark on the verge of death following the 'Civil War', Loki has to make a choice.MCU Accurate up to the end of Thor: The Dark World.





	1. The Overseers Dilemma

**Author's Note:**

> I know I have KNEEL, and even Revelations of Avengers Tower to possibly write more of, as well as Part 2 of my big series.... This idea just burrowed into my brain and refused to leave! I was re watching the Iron Man, Thor and all the Avengers movies to try to get my plot finalized for the Darkness Series but I need to vent my anger and frustrations with 'Team Cap' in some way! I kinda can't believe Rhodey just acted as if everything was 'all systems go' in Infinity War after what Rogers did to Tony. 
> 
> Fuck you Steve! You deserve this! THIS RIGHT HERE. I can't wait to write the ending. (Sorry I'm a bit salty lol) James is a precious little cinnamon roll like my Tony.

Months passed as he used Odin’s influence to prompt the other realms to come together for a diplomatic war council. He had to be careful with how he presented his knowledge, but he supposed the over exaggeration of Odin’s all seeing and power nature helped. He wasn’t able to come right out and say the information had come from Loki himself. No one would've taken it seriously enough.

He felt just getting the advisors and diplomats to come together and talk…. To take the threat seriously, was his first miracle.

His second? That was the unifying treaty that swore each leader of each world to help. Surtur, though weakened in his current state, had agreed to send minor demons, as foot soldiers. 

Helblindi, the new King of Jotunheim, had agreed to use their magic to send the fire army to whatever battlefield they needed to be on to fight Thanos and his minions. There weren’t enough warriors to allow the King to send his own battalion. Loki felt momentary guilt about that. Only a small section of their planet had been affected by the bifrost in his attack, but it happened to be one of only 5 cities in their entire realm. Jotunheim was sparsely populated and always had been. It was a small world drenched in magics so old some of their abilities were envied even among  Alfheim

Frey, his uncle was sworn to send Vanir warriors to help in a second wave.

Entri, King of the Dwarves had already started churning out as much weaponry as they could, fortifying regular weapons with Uru.

Loki was left pondering how he could get the unruly and young Midgard to help their defenses…. He knew after the Battle of New York, he would have to be careful. Their realm knew of aliens, knew they were outclassed in nearly every way…. But still.

He was going to need to call Thor back and give him a new mission. He just begged the Norns his ‘brother’ wouldn’t royally screw up his orders. Dealing with the various leaders of Midgard was going to present a challenge, but he couldn’t be in two places at once. He couldn’t play Odin AND his son.

It was late at night and he’d been pacing in Odin’s chambers. He couldn’t get his mind to settle. He could feel the slowly ebbing energies of their realm and how they were beginning to gather around the All-Father. He’d already penned a letter explaining the threat and why he had done all that he’d tried to do. It burned somewhere deep to lay everything out to Odin, but he had to.

He explained his motives, his worries and his….. hope that the King would take his warning to heart and listen to him for once. He knew Odin didn’t particularly think much of Midgard and mortals in general. He’d been surprised by the bomb that had decimated the Chitauri, but that was about the extent of his ‘regard’ for mortals. Impressed by a few truly terrifying weapons. He held no interest in including Midgard on the universal stage.

Loki knew that was a mistake but he was having a hard time figuring out how to go about handling the various leaders and organizations….the Avengers… it was just a complete headache.

Because of his anxiety, he slipped out of his father’s rooms and made his way to the throne. The ancient powers Heimdal could control were also imbued into the throne itself so the ruler of Asgard could see everything in the universe as well. Something was prompting him to look towards Midgard.

His consciousness took off flitting around the green and blue globe, but it was looking for those he knew to be the upholders of justice where he stuttered. His confusion kept him from reacting right away as it became apparent the two main pillars of strength on Midgard were battling each other.

This wasn’t just a fight. This wasn’t a meaningless squabble. 

This was knock down, drag out pure rage and desperation. It looked to Loki as if Stark had lost his mind and was attacking with a pure vicious single track abandon. He knew he couldn’t afford to let Stark kill or injure the Soldier or his metal armed friend. It was as he was forcing his legs to work and make him stand that he caught the blast of a well placed repulsor. The metal arm, which had been threatening to do some serious damage to the Iron Man suit suddenly flew across the room. 

Loki was absolutely stunned. It was not in Stark’s personality to be so ruthless. He could see a flicker in the mortal’s face. He caught the flash of surprise and a tiny moment of guilt before the Captain was exploding in his own vicious rebuttal. Stark was still fighting, but his rage seemed curbed. It didn’t seem to register for Rogers as he beat the suit into a semi broken submission. Loki had a moment of unease as he watched the arc reactor charge up from it’s place trapped under the weight of the Avenger, but the unibeam was never fired. The very moment it would have gone off, the light dulled. Loki could guess Stark had decided in that moment that he truly didn’t want the death of his teammate on his shoulders.

He was still forced to watch as the Captain didn’t seem to process the same thing. He raised his shield and brought it down multiple times, each hit more forceful until….. 

Until the chest piece caved in and broke.

The bright light of Stark’s mechanical heart flickered and died. Broken into pieces. The mortal’s face was shocked and contorted in pain. He couldn’t make out their words, but he could easily see the frothy pink at the edges of his lips as he yelled at the retreating soldiers.

Was the Captain leaving? He was limping away with the other man’s good arm thrown over his broad shoulders. Both men were obviously in pain but able to move.

Stark on the other hand….. Slumped in the suit, he watched the others leave and Loki couldn’t fathom how the armor, as mangled as it was, could possibly hold his fragile body together.

He couldn’t spare another thought and reached for the branches of Yggdrasil.


	2. Consequences of Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How badly was Tony really injured and what will Loki do about it? It's time for Loki to lay out all his cards and make a deal with the mortal prince of Midgard. If he doesn't get this right, the whole universe would be at stake....

He couldn’t believe he’d been so naive as to think coming alone without even his suit online to send his coordinates was a good idea. As he lay in the bleak concrete bunker and labored for every searing breath, he couldn’t help thinking about all the ways over the years that Steve had repeatedly shown him he didn’t really matter.

He’d thought they were friends…. He’d thought the team, HIS team…. Were family. Dysfunctional, sure. Every family was, right?

He coughed and nearly passed out from the intense immediate pain it caused.

His blood suddenly splattering over his lips and chin as the jag took him. God, this hurt so much! He’d been injured before. Obviously. Many times over the years. He’d broken bones, sprained things…. He wasn’t exactly a spring chicken anymore….

The pain was gnawing at his consciousness and he knew if it didn’t knock him out, he’d be succumbing to the bitter freezing temperatures soon enough. The suit was completely dead weight. It was cracked and crushed in so many places, the air easily got inside.

His flight suit was basically like wearing pajamas. It was so thin, designed to wick away sweat from prolonged fighting….. He knew he wouldn’t stand a chance at survival without the emergency beacon…. Without power to the suit, he didn’t have enough juice to even send that distress call.

He wondered if Steve realized that when he walked away?

Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise him if that technophobe had no idea when he said he was off the grid, that he wouldn’t be able to get evac without power to the armor….

Fuck, it didn’t even matter.

Everything was starting to burn, especially his extremities and his face, which was exposed.

He knew there was literally NOTHING he could do at this point. He had to resign himself to closing his eyes and hoping death would come quickly with a numbing of his body. It would be fantastic to feel nothing now. Every breath was agony, white hot and searing.

He was left thinking of Rhodey and Pepper… of Happy and Peter. His true friends…. His family. While Pepper and he had been on again, off again for the better part of a decade…. Rhodey had always been by his side. The crushing guilt over the airport battle…. The accident…. He cursed his decision to go after Steve to help him and Barnes. If he had just had a tiny bit of foresight…. He would’ve realized Rogers was a shitty friend. He should have stayed home and started designing leg braces. He only trusted himself when it came to tech that would get his Platypus back on his feet.

Now, he could only hope the inheritance he was going to leave would be enough for him to find the help he’d need. He HATED the idea that Rhodey would never walk again.

Yet one more thing that was his fault.

He cursed his father’s obsession with Captain America. If he hadn’t had that ideology drilled into his head from birth, maybe he wouldn't have overlooked all the red flags in their relationship and realized the star spangled man with a plan was just a man. An equally flawed and totally fucked up man with just as many horrible habits as he himself had.

He was getting tired from all the thinking, so he knew hypothermia was setting in. His fingers, once burning, were now numb. He assumed frostbite was also wreaking havoc.

He’d just closed his eyes again when a deep, strangely cultured voice tentatively spoke somewhere above him.

“Norns, If I’m too late I’m going to have to hunt for the time stone on TOP of everything else….. Stark! Are you still breathing?”

It took him a moment to place that smooth voice, and in the sudden warmth that seemed to sefuse his body. He managed to crack his eyes open again.

A dark halo blurred around a pale face as it leaned over him. He felt something like a caress across his chest, but that couldn’t be right…. His chest was buried under the twisted armor. There was no way someone’s hand could touch him like that. That fact made him force his eyes open all the way and try to focus on the face and voice….

“..... Loki? The fuck…. You doing… here….” Tony’s voice sounded wreaked. Like his vocal chords had been raked over hot coals. To his own mind, he sounded plenty loud enough.

To Loki, his murmur was rough but quiet. Unsure. The god had to smile, even if a bit lopsidedly and against the odds. It seemed the mortal was at a point where he thought he was hallucinating a godly intervention.

“You’d better not die on me Stark. Just hold on.”

Under the dome of his environmental shield, Loki knew the frigid temperature wasn’t endangering the mortal any longer. He also knew not to move him too much when getting him to a healer.

While his own magics weren’t that strong in the healing of dire injuries, he still pressed into the man with his seidr, seeking to at least try to keep his ribs from shifting more.

Once that was done, he levitated the billionaire, keeping him horizontal. Teleportation wasn’t exactly easy while keeping the mortal from moving, but he managed.

He’d assumed Stark would want a hospital closer to home, so he’d jumped back to New York City and donned a disguise. The Strange doctor who thought himself a sorcerer would suffice.

Once he got the mortal to help, he faded away under an invisibility spell to watch how quickly his teammates descended.

If he’d just so happened to chose the same hospital his friend James Rhodes was recuperating in, so be it but he spent the next 27 minutes waiting before a whirlwind of red hair and worry burst through the waiting room. She was simultaneously on the phone and sternly demanding information from nurses and doctors…. The Vision came next at 43 minutes. He phased completely through the emergency room glass doors and with a tense expression, floated through the corridors to find the woman.

Stark was rushed off into surgery before Vision had gotten there so he just waited with the others in the waiting room. He’d cloaked himself and warded the corner of the room to prevent others from wandering too close.

Strangely, no other Avengers came. Only one other man showed up and he was dark haired and seemed just as nervous and irritated as the woman.

Where were the others? Surely even such a disastrous fight between the Iron Man and the Captain wouldn’t render the entire team unable to come to Anthony Stark’s bedside in such a time of need….

He leaned against the wall like a statue unmoving and waited, hoping one of the three would impart some insight as to what really happened.

He didn’t have to wait long. At the hour mark, Anthony’s friend was pushed into the room by a nurse and left with them. Loki could see the man was fighting pain because he was sweaty, ashen and gaunt. He was also livid. The one called ‘Happy’ moved his chair around closer to the woman and locked the wheels.

“I can’t…. I can’t believe they would do this!...... They just…. Just left him out there? Viz, did you hear from him after….. After he went to talk to the others at the Raft?..... He left them all behind bars right?”

The creature noded and his cape fluttered in an invisible wind.

“That was Friday’s last communication with him. He deactivated his GPS and went offline to get to the location he was to meet Rodgers and Barnes.”

“At least we know the others are still in prison. We just have to worry about the two soldiers being in the wind….. I just…. Rhodey, his chest was a mess….” The woman started off sounding fierce but ended on a hushed subdued tone.

What the Hel had happened to these fighters? How could they be imprisoned? How could the two driving forces behind Earth’s Mightiest Heroes be so at odds to as to attempt murder?

So many things he didn’t understand right now, but he hovered close and listened in on everything that was spoken.

When a surgeon came out to greet the only teammates Stark had left, he looked resigned and Loki had a moment of mild panic. Midgard could not afford to lose one of its chief defenders….

“Miss Potts? We’re doing everything we possibly can but I’m sorry…. The damage to his rib cage is very extensive. It’s been thoroughly weakened over time due to his others surgeries, but we simply don’t have the ability to regrow that much bone mass. I’ve enforced what I could of the bones, stopped the bleeding from a torn diaphragm and punctured lung…. But I’m afraid we will need an Arc Reactor from Stark Industries and replace what we took out before. It’s the only way to ensure the structural integrity of his chest.”

The woman never said a word, only turned and nodded once to Happy, who took off like he was on fire. Rhodes tossed his head back against the headrest on his chair and groaned. The Vision just floated unmoving near the man.

Loki processed that information as well. Stark had taken the magic repelling starlight from his chest. He’d tried to be a normal human….. A Decidedly poor choice with what was barreling down on them, but he couldn’t truly fault the mortal.

It was less than a half hour before Happy came back, with his own team of people to take over the surgery for the hospital staff. These must be Stark’s personal healers. He knew if he had been in Stark’s position, he would have his own team as well.

Loki was afraid to pace much in the deathly quiet room of waiting because the others were all sitting or hovering without movement, lost in their own worry. He didn’t want to risk making a sound to draw their attention.

It was a three hour eternity.

Just when he thought he had no more patience and he was going to snap and murder people himself, the doors swung open. A lithe oriental woman in a doctor coat swept into the room looking tired and centered her gaze on Pepper.

“We’ve done all we can. Everything is as stable as we can make it, but the reactor was necessary. I’m sorry Pepper, Colonel, Vision. We just have to wait now….. Though, if his health takes a bad turn, we could still lose him.” The doctor looked around at each face before she continued.

“If the Cradle had been repaired fast enough…. We might have been able to use Extremis. Tony did create a version that gave all the advantages without the problems, right?”

Rhodey snapped to attention and both Pepper and Happy stiffened. In the end, Pepper chose to speak.

“No. Even if it was fully functional. Tony would refuse that. He…. he wouldn’t want to live like that….”

“Yeah, no Doctor Cho…. With all the crap we dealt with when he tackled that damn thing, I don’t think Tony would appreciate it at all.”

“Agreed.” Rhodes added. “I think it’s all up to Tones now.”

Left to try to piece together what all of that nonsense meant was difficult. Stealthily he crept from the area and followed the doctor to a nurses station, then found the room number with no name on it.

When he slipped into the room he was momentarily caught off guard again. Tubes came from everywhere! There was a small one looped around the beaten and bruised face, there was a large one going down his throat which looked to be connected to some barbaric balloon that blew up and deflated…. And there were other machines scattered around his bedside.

What was unsettling was how ghostly pale the mortal was. He was grey. The grey of death.

Loki moved closer and for some reason he couldn’t understand, he tentatively reached down and barely touched the back of the man’s hand.

Cold.

The light shone in his chest and the machines seemed to be keeping his heart beating and lungs breathing…. But the man of iron wasn’t there. His consciousness was buried in a silent mind. Loki, in a fit of desperation, forced his own mind into the mortals.

Dream Walking was a rusty skill, but one he had at his disposal. He needed to talk to the man again. It was possible his woman would see him this way and decide to end his suffering if the doctors couldn’t do more. He closed his eyes and forced them open once he’d connected to Stark.

 

**\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////*\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////**

 

Everything was white, devoid of detail. Stark laid still wearing the black suit he saw under the armor. His face looked healthy, tan, handsome as if he was only napping. It was unnerving but Loki sat beside him on the ground anyway.

“Stark.”

The disgruntled noise made the god twitch in a slight smirk.

“You may yet die, don’t tell me you don’t want the chance to tell me how you and your Captain came to such a grievous parting of ways? As of this moment, the Doctor named Cho is talking to your woman and friends about something called Extremis….” As he hoped, the foreign word forced Stark to open his eyes and bolt up into a sitting position, his face turned towards the god, eyes wide.

“Oh, fuck no! Don’t let them do that to me. I…. I’m not stable enough as it is with this….” He looked down and the tight suit shimmered over his chest to include the glow of the reactor.

Loki raised an eyebrow as he glanced down and then back up.

“What makes you believe I have any sway over your friends? Would they not know your wishes?”

Stark’s face darkened looking him in the eye. He could tell the mortal was trying to understand why he was even there…. What he got out of possibly helping him. Loki…. Wasn’t sure he should divulge everything, but perhaps a few truths would suffice?

“..... If it’s any consolation, something called the ‘Cradle’ isn’t operational yet, and all of your friends seemed against this ‘Extremis’. Though I am at a loss here…. I thought, maybe because your lives were so fleeting you would WANT to find a way to stay alive? Am I wrong? Are you ready to go into this light, never to see their faces again? Never to right your wrongs or punish Rogers for his? Surely attempted murder, and that of a teammate no less…. Should carry some consequences….”

Stark seemed to think for a few moments. His brow crinkling a bit in confusion before he replied.

“Why so concerned with little old me? Why are you here, telling me all this anyway? Where ARE we?”

The unspoken ‘What’s in it for you?’ was easily discernible in his tone, even if he’d been slightly side tracked. Loki just turned away and with a huff, waved a hand at the emptiness.

The white turned black. Solid, cold, velvety darkness of the void filled with ships Stark had seen years before. The feeling of dread…. And impending disaster was real and sour in the back of Tony’s throat as his eyes took on a shine of panic and one hand reached out to grip Loki’s forearm without thought.

“It’s coming Stark. They are finally making their way here…. Your realm needs you more than ever. I’ve done all I can for the other realms…. You are your planet’s best defense. You must find a way to wake from this. To heal from it.”

He saw the jerky bob of Stark’s adam’s apple as he convulsively swallowed. He even heard the dry click as it happened. He couldn’t blame the mortal…. Even he, a god, was outmatched.

“If…. If they’re talking about Extremis, then Im kind of fucked and their’s nothing more than can do for me.”

Because Loki was sharing his mindscape, he could feel the fear and anxiety mounting higher by the second. He had no idea why, but his elegant long fingered hand moved to settle over the nervous grip on his arm. Stark was warmer than he was. He didn’t have time to dwell on that though.

“My magic can’t heal all that was done to you, but I think it would greatly benefit your race if you were to be strengthened in some way…. Harder to kill for the coming battle.”

The god waited for the man to give him his full attention. When he had it, he took a deep breath.

“There is ancient magics only known to those of Asgard. You are already a Prince in your realm. You are already a warrior of great esteem. You are worthy of a blessing by the All-Father. It would make you a god. Physically nearly as hard to injure as Thor or Myself. I can gain this power for you.”

Stark’s jaw hung open and his eyes fought confusion, suspicion, curiosity and then they hardened.

“Why would you do that? Aren’t we enemies?”

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend, Stark. I may have thrown you from a window, but believe me when I say it was nothing personal. I don’t really remember much of my time fighting your heroes…. But you need to know the one that comes? He’s the one that turned me into that shell…. That monster that came looking for blood and subjects to rule. If he can do that to a god like me….. what could he do to your world without you to protect it?”

Loki was watching carefully so he noticed the flinch and eyes as they clouded and turned down, seeming to just now realize they were connected. He let Stark pull his hand away and look at his fingers held loosely in his lap for what felt like a millenia. He was unprepared to hear the quiet worry as the man mused out loud.

“Me? What if I fail?”

“If Midgard falls, the other realms will fall to him as well. Your Earth is the gateway…. The door into our universe. He doesn’t have the Tesseract yet, so it may be a bit before he can reach us here. I’ve prepared Asgard and the other realms as best I can…. But if you want me to help you get ready here…. I have to be sure that you won’t just die on me as easily as mortals tend to do.” He paused for a breath then continued, “And, I was under the impression that you would be who I would need to talk to about changing the opinions of those that would imprison me if they caught me here again. I need to be able to help ready everyone and form battle plans.”

Slowly Stark nodded.

“You need me to make your way as smooth as I can so you’ll be believed about the invasion. Good luck with that. I’ve been harping on them for years and everyone just thinks I’m paranoid….. But I guess…. If you are willing to help heal me from…. This. Willing to make me stronger, I can help you as much as I’m able. Hell, even then, I’ll probably still owe you.”

Loki, finally began to unwind as he took a steadying large breath. Stark was agreeing to help. Agreeing to try again, to fight his injury and everyone that stood in the way of protecting his world and the rest of the universe.

He’d always carried a few apples in his pocket dimension. They came in handy when he had to ‘die’ as he had on Svartenheim. He twisted his fingers in an elegant motion and appeared one in front of the mortal’s eyes.

“It won’t be easy but you’ll have to wake up and breath on your own for a few hours before you’ll be able to consume this. It will immediately take effect though, and once you’re healed, you’ll need more sustenance than even Thor eats at a sitting. At least for the first few days. I’ll stay with you until you can get home. I’ll be covered with illusions though.”

Stark nodded at him and looked determined. Loki paused briefly while he was starting to force the mindscape to shift and push the man’s consciousness back into the forefront of his brain.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for everyone to know how you survived right away….. Or my involvement….. Until we can work on clearing my name or at least get a deal from your government not to pursue me. I think it’s best I just take the roll of a healer employed in your home.”

Stark thought about that and after staring at the glinting golden apple in his hands, he agreed.

“Sure Lokes. We’ll play this quiet and close to the vest for now….. Wake me up.”

 

**\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////*\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////**

 

It took the doctors four tries to get the tubes out and Stark to breath on his own. Loki was invisible and slid around the room as nurses and doctors bustled around. He could tell the man was in terrible pain regardless of his rib no longer impaling his lung. When the other humans weren’t looking, he caressed Stark’s arm, laying the simplest spell he could manage. It eased the man’s pain enough that it wasn’t such a struggle.

By the time 3 hours had passed he was just getting cleared to allow visitors. Loki hurriedly pressed the apple into his hand and watched at the mortal looked at it for only a few short moments before consuming it.

Everyone, including his woman, Happy and Vision came running when the various machines started to go haywire. He helped Stark tear all the lines and tubing from his body as it healed, his skin briefly flashing a golden hue.

He would’ve liked to stick around long enough to hear whatever story the mortal told, but there were too many bodies crammed into the tiny space already, so he took the form of an orderly and ducked away, giving Stark one flash of emerald eyes and a smirk before he left.

He’d meet him back at his home as soon as he could convince everyone he was fine.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned into a monster! I guess Loki had a lot to get Tony to understand and Tony had a lot to figure out. Least of which was if he should trust a deal brokered with the God of Mischief...
> 
> COMMENTS ARE WRITING FUEL <333


	3. Sorry, Not Sorry! BTW Where's my burger?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cat's outta the bag. Tony fills in his human friends, the only ones he has left anyway.... He might be sort of vague with the particulars of the golden apple and everything though...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is my opinion that marvel did a disservice to the character of James Rhodes when they made him greet Rogers so happily in Infinity War. I get that maybe post original Avengers, they were all friends, but it doesn’t excuse it in my mind. Rhodey is Tony’s OLDEST friend. He’s been around for every single nasty scandal. He’s stuck with Tony for over 20 years if they did attend MIT together, so it makes NO SENSE that Rhodey wouldn’t want to wipe the floor with Rogers at the very least, and be pissy at the others because they abandoned Tony. He probably has had to deal with a LOT of emotional repression on Tony’s part post Obie etc. So that’s where I’m coming from writing my version of Rhodey.
> 
> Pepper and Happy have been around, likewise, for probably a decade right? It would make sense that time binds people together. As the only constant people to see the “real” Tony Stark with any frequency, I feel that even if there is no romance between them, Pepper would still take his side and get pissed on his behalf. Im sure Happy has also seen/heard the Rogues talking occasional shit, or just not involving Tony as much as they should have in their lives post original Avengers.

Tony had kept one eye on the doorway and he didn’t see another orderly with green eyes for the next 7 hours. Apparently, it didn’t matter how much money he offered to throw at the hospital to build them another wing, his recovery was miraculous and they insisted on doing every fucking test under the sun.

In her defense, Doctor Cho just given him an exasperated look and pointedly didn’t ask how he’d managed the feat. Pepper, Happy and Rhodey were upset. He tried getting up and pacing when he got antsy but Rhodey had rolled over his feet and chased him back to the bed with Happy blocking the door. Pepper had just looked put out. He could tell she was close to unraveling as various doctors and nurses came and went…. She wanted to scream at him and demand answers. He knew that set to her shoulders and the thin line of her lips rather well.

He realized the only reason his friends weren’t asking the question was because they A) Knew it wasn’t safe to talk about whatever had happened to him out in the open where spies could hear. They’d all suddenly gained a new respect and paranoia about them, thanks to Natasha and B) All three of them were enjoying watching Tony being poked prodded and pestered by the hospital staff. He could only guess it was because they were upset about him worrying them.

Because of these things, he kept his quips to a minimum and kept quiet about anything that could reveal how he’d managed to heal. He DID feel a serious gnawing hunger though. It started shortly after the doctors began issuing the tests. He’d had to yell a few times to bully someone into bringing him hospital food, which he cringingly ate. He finished everything, and Happy stared at the finished tray in confusion because he knew Tony hated hospital food.

Five minutes later his stomach was growling so loud it could be heard over the various machinery. He was so screwed if he didn’t get out of here fast enough. He knew from their knowledge of Thor and his horrible recipe combinations and eating habits, that a sudden god-like appetite would set them all off completely.

Pepper had heard the loud growl and he watched the look on her face morph from fond exasperation, to then confusion and finally settle into eyebrow twitching irritation staring him in the eye. It took her only 5 minutes after that to get him approved for discharge.

There was more than one reason she was his appointed CEO. That crazy Pepper-Dragon like ability to rain hellfire down on anyone whose opinion wasn’t in agreement with her own was the reason she was so good at the job.

Nearly 20 minutes later he was sliding into the backseat. With Rhodey beside him and Pepper up front with Happy driving, they were making good time getting back to his Penthouse. Another loud complaint from his stomach made Rhodey turn and look him over top to bottom confused.

All he could do was shrug and ask Happy to run through Burger King on his way.

When it came to ordering though…. His usual 2 cheeseburgers turned into 4 bacon double stacks 2 large fries, 1 large onion rings and a huge vanilla milkshake.

Rhodey stared wide eyed as Tony demolished everything but half a burger, which he finished as they entered the Penthouse itself. He tossed the garbage in the trash and mosied over to the couch and flopped down with a sigh.

Suddenly, as if he had been in shock the entire time, being home in his lovely apartment, surrounded by his friends and obviously worried FRIDAY….. He blinked and his shoulders slumped. Happy, Pepper and Rhodey found seats scattered near him and waited.

Pepper’s irritation had bled into something a little more manageable. Yes, he could tell she was still pissed he was keeping something important from them all… but she could always see passed most of his masks. Right now? His mask of indifference and forced cheer was nowhere to be seen. He just looked around at every little piece of his life in the vast opulent space and was thankful he was here to enjoy it again.

“So…. answers I guess.”

Everyone was waiting on him and he had a moment to decide if he was going to spin this as hard as he could, or if he was going to go straight for the simplest truth.

“So….. um. While stuck in a near death experience, I was informed there is a new universal threat on it’s way and Earth needs as many fighters as possible. Also….. Apparently I wasn’t allowed to die.”

“What does that mean Tony? Something like the aliens from before?” Pepper’s shrill voice  held an edge of panic. The Chitauri and the resulting panic attacks and nightmares were one of the contributing factors of their eventual final break up. That and the couple of times a system piloted suit had mistaken Pepper for a threat while Tony was asleep…. And almost hurt her.

He paused, but Rhodey didn’t wait for more than a moment before chiming in sarcastically….

“Oh this is great, just great.”

“Um, not to avoid that giant mess of impending doom and all, but Boss? Who the hell told you you couldn’t die and….. Brought you back?” Happy interrupted.

“And how?” Pepper added.

Tony heaved a rather large sigh as his head, fell back onto the couch’s back and he stared at the ceiling. He decided they probably weren’t ready for the whole truth.

“The ruling family of Asgard is busy unifying all the Nine Realms or something. Earth is one of them. We don’t just get Thor as a protector now…. We’re going to have the Allfather’s attention. I was told we have to build a bigger group of extraordinary individuals. Kinda what I was hoping for all along, especially now with the Accords. Yeah, they need serious overhaul….. It’s basically Ross trying to leash us all and use us as powerful toys…. How are we with the legal department Pep?” His giant rambling thought had circled neatly around to the last thing he and Pepper had spoken about before he’d left for the Raft…. And Siberia.

“I’ve got the entire team working around the clock to dissect the whole thing. Vision is lending his input but we still need a human element to some of the proposed revisions. He’s great, but he doesn’t grasp everything an enhanced individual might want from the contract.”

“Alright. Well, it’s a start. I can’t recruit anyone new until the paperwork is polished and good enough. Rogers defected because he didn’t want anyone controlling where he goes and what he does, but….” Tony shook himself and sat back up straight. “Whatever. Forget that for now. I was told to assemble more fighters and train them for alien armies…. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me here…..” He turned to include Rhodey and for a split second he’d forgotten his best friend couldn’t just jump up and follow him.

Following him had gotten him hurt so badly…. And it was all Tony’s fault. But he would fix what he could.

“I’m not forgetting I also need to go figure out a kickass new prosthetic for my Honey Bear too! I WILL get you back up on your feet. Having my general at my side is the most important thing right now.”

Rhodey wanted to roll his eyes, but he just couldn’t fully manage it with all the gratefulness he was feeling for not only his friend still breathing, but for his obvious devotion to his own well being. All he could manage was a solid brotherly nod.

“Oh, one more thing. When I say the Asgardian Royal Family brought me back…. I meant the other Crowned Prince. Apparently, after that whole Dark Elf thing and Loki dying to save him, Thor neglected to mention his brother likes to come back from the dead occasionally. It wasn’t Odin or Thor that found me dying in Siberia. It was him. He healed me enough to get me to the hospital and while I was there and nearly dead he explained a few things. He also gifted me with something sacred from Asgard that basically….. Well…. It’ll make be better, faster, stronger. Like…… well, maybe a bit like them. I don’t have magic though, or I won’t.”

In the stunned silence that greeted that statement, Tony watched 3 pairs of wide eyes stare at him unblinking before he heard a deep chuckle from across the room. Everyone, including Rhodey with a bit of effort and twinge of pain, spun around in their seats to look.

“.....Now, now, I wouldn’t completely rule out magic Anthony…. After all, you are already quite adept at creating magically nullifying objects and charms.” His smirk was sinful as he straightened himself from his position slouched against the wall leading into the kitchen. The god nodded once and let his gaze drop to the light that could just barely be seen through the cotton of Tony’s shirt.

Tony could only cock his head inquisitively at that, remembering the invasion of New York and how the scepter hadn’t worked on him. Huh, well how about that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is so short but I'm having issues with the second half of this chapter and decided I was making you all wait too long for it. I'll be adding everyone else's reaction to Loki being here into the next chapter. Hopefully I will be able to update again on Friday! 
> 
> If you all are waiting for the angst and anger and hurt on Tony's behalf or for Tony to feel it himself.... have no fear my lovelies! IT'S COMING! Tony is a bit in shock still from the betrayal itself, its ramifications, AND his new lease on life. (He's kind of forcing himself to bury what he feels to get the perceived job done that needs doing. So he's going to focus on the Accords and figuring out what to do about more fighters before he allows himself some deep introspective.) I have no doubts that all of his friends will voice their opinions on Rogers and his actions, not to mention all the other Avengers.... and I can't forget to bring in Bruce and Thor! Nearly killing your shield brother isn't something Thor will be okay with at ALL and Science Bros gotta stick together! <3
> 
> The next chapter should be longer and start to touch on the emotional aspects of Tony's recovery.


	4. Real Introductions, Explanations and Contemplation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More explanations, Tony tells his friends the truth. Loki finds he has even more in common with Anthony than he anticipated.

Everyone sat frozen starring as the God of Mischief strolled over casually and sat on the other side of Tony on the couch. He was farthest away from Rhodey and Happy, but Pepper was seated on the edge of the coffee table and…. She couldn’t help the knee jerk reaction as he settled in with a smile.

He’d been one of the reasons Tony had woken screaming in the middle of the night, so she just couldn’t curb herself fast enough. The resounding CRACK of a palm against a cheekbone was heard before it was seen.

Pepper had survived her extremis strain after all, and even though she didn’t want to be enhanced…. Some intense feelings forced her to react faster than a human could in addition to healing anything faster than normal.

This was one of those times her shock and fear took over her brain.

Everyone froze, including Tony with a stunned expression before they realized Loki was grinning now. Full on grinning, flashing teeth and barely containing his laughter.

“Oh, I **_like_ ** you...” he couldn’t help but purr.

Rhodey made a move as if he would have jumped up and Happy took a small step back but he went from shocked to glaring in a nanosecond.

Tony gaped like a fish for a moment.

“Hey, hey, don’t be getting any ideas there Reindeer Games. Pepper, could you ah, not smack the guy that saved my life please?”

Her own shock was dissipating and she turned stormy eyes on Tony then glared at Loki.

“Thank you for saving his life. It would’ve carried more weight if you hadn’t thrown him out of a window or choked him before.” She knew enough not to mention the nightmares.

Loki’s jovial expression wiped clean in a blink as if it had never been there. The speed at which he went completely neutral was unsettling.

“My apologies… I was not in my right mind during that battle.” Tony was caught in a green gaze as Loki turned to look at him solemnly. “I am very thankful your advances in your armor allowed it to catch you. I can’t imagine how much harder getting your planet ready for Thanos would be without your influence and ingenuity.”

As far as compliments went…. That one was…. Well, he tried not to let it get to him. He shrugged it off the best he could.

“Thanos. You’ll have to fill them in…. And if you really want to strategize and plan with me, I’ll need to know more than what you’ve already told me.”

Loki bowed his head and clasped his hands together. Everyone else took notice of how he paused and took a deeper breath. Tony might have been the only one that saw how his left hand gripped his right tightly even as the fingers tried to twitch.

“Yes… Suffice to say I was tortured while at a mentally vulnerable point in my life. I’m sure Thor has spoken to you in regards to why he believes I behaved as I did…. But my…. Family, was never privy to the circumstances after my fall from the Bifrost. I won’t burden you with the details of that…. But if you remember how the Hawk and Scholar were controlled by the mind stone inside the scepter, it was very similar. When your Hulk remodeled your floor with me, the control was broken…. Unfortunately, I was muzzled and not allowed to give any explanation at my sentencing.”

Everyone was staring harder. Tony was…. He had to make sure but…. The way Loki spoke about it…. He raised a hand to stop his words.

“Wait. So, sentencing, no trial?”

Loki blinked and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Why would the All-Father bother with a trial when his son and Gatekeeper both agreed I lead the army?”

“But…. no one asked why?”

“As your SHIELD pointed out to Thor…. They why never mattered. The battle caused the deaths of some few hundred mortals and vast destruction of one of Midgard’s greatest cities. There was no contest that my hand was the one that ushered the Chitauri here.”

Tony and Rhodey shared a look. The whole punishment and sentencing seemed really not…. Right . Especially for a realm supposedly as advanced as Asgard.

“Okay, Loki. You saved Tony, which means you get a little benefit of the doubt here… Lay it out for us because, as far as we know, you’re as strong as Thor and capable of some impressive magic. Tell us about Thanos. Everything you know and everything you even think might be true about him. What are his goals? How do we fight someone strong enough to enslave you?”

Loki nodded to himself. The mortal was no nonsense and hadn’t outright said he believed Loki or that he was interested in anything else other than how to figure out survival for their planet. Loki approved, but….

“I will explain everything I can but we are going to need more food. Anthony’s body is changing on a molecular level and will continue to do so over the next few days.” The god paused and looked at Tony. His bruises and cuts that were visible hours ago were already gone.

“Seriously?!” Happy looked unconvinced…. But at that very moment, another loud growl was heard from Tony’s direction and he actually looked bashful as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Umm… FRIDAY?”

“Yeah Boss?”

Loki startled and looked up to the ceiling, immediately glancing in the directions of the various hidden micro cameras. Tony couldn’t figure out how he knew where they were….

“Oh, um, FRIDAY, meet Loki….. Loki, my girl FRIDAY. She’s my assistant. She sees and hears everything in my floors and helps with my suits. If you’re ever curious about anything, feel free to ask her. FRI, honey, can you order pizzas? Say…. enough to feed 2 Thor’s and 3 regular people.”

“I’d like a ceasar salad instead please FRIDAY.” Pepper amended.

“If it isn’t much trouble, I would like a salad as well as this ‘pizza’, and I only eat about half of what Thor would eat. I’m not a glutton.”

Tony snickered. Pepper had a moment where she suddenly realized Loki was probably very different from Thor and she decided to withhold judgement for the time being.

It took over an hour to go over everything Loki knew for certain about Thanos and his ‘Children’ but by the time he had exhausted his knowledge, Tony’s friends had all decided to give Loki a chance. Tony only had to look at them each meaningfully during Loki’s explanation. He was a serious proponent of second chances and this seemed to be Loki’s.

It was after they’d come to the end of Loki’s knowledge and Tony was FINALLY relaxed back into the couch with a hand rubbing his stomach, that Loki stole a glance at the inventor and decided to chance it. He hadn’t heard Anthony describe the basis of his fight with the Captain yet….

“If it isn’t too much to ask, I’d like to know what brought about the fight you had with the Captain….”

Rhodey took one look at Tony and started explaining about the Accords. Loki nodded at everything. Honestly, it made sense to him and the warriors of Asgard agreed to a similar contract when they joined the army of Odin. Everyone knew the army was responsible for order across all the realms. He said as much and it caused Tony and toss his hands up.

“See!? The Accords are necessary and thinking you can just go anywhere and damage people’s homes and land and risk life and limb of civilians isn’t right! I can’t believe he couldn’t see it. Just because he has the power, doesn’t mean he gets out of the responsibility of cleaning up his own messes. Collateral damage my ass. That idiot never gave a shit about anyone else.”

Loki could see the anger and his seidr reacted to Anthony’s volatile mood immediately. His eyes swirled from a forest green to a more vivid emerald. This level of anger didn’t feel correct for just disagreeing on politics…

Rhodey beat him to a further question.

“Tones, I know he was blind about that but…. What exactly happened in Siberia?”

Loki and Pepper leaned forward at the same time watching the emotions flicker and get buried under a neutral mask. Tony took a full minute or longer to start talking, but when he did it was flat and monotone.

“Well, Clint and Sam seemed to think Cap was just trying to keep his old war buddy safe. I could understand that. Hell, the guy thought his best friend had died in 1942 only to find out he’d been experimented on and enhanced similar to himself by his arch enemy, fucking Hydra. He was turned into a puppet and brainwashed. After I found them, we talked about that and I could understand that. Bucky, James Buchanon was used. He was a highly trained and enhanced assassin yeah, but he didn’t have a choice….. We were trying to figure out how to get us all out of there after we found the other Winter Soldiers… but they’d already been killed….

We were locked into this bunker, the walls were so thick…. Reinforced steel in case of nuclear strike. Steve’s shield, Bucky’s arm, my suit…. Nothing could break us out of there. Then we heard a voice….The psychiatrist wasn’t a real psychiatrist. He was a victim that was so twisted he wanted to destroy the Avengers. See, Sokovia….. His family, wife and child, never made it out alive and he was…. Just trying to find closure…. A way to make us all pay….”

Tony paused, took a few deep breaths before wiping his hands on his jeans and focusing on his knees. He didn’t want to relive this, but he had to tell someone….

“He said ‘An empire toppled by it’s enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within? That’s dead.’  I didn’t know what he meant. A console came on in front of me and it turned out to be a surveillance video. A stretch of road in the winter that I recognized. December 16, 1991…. The night my parents died in a car accident. Turns out…… my father was carting a suitcase with super soldier serum in it…. Enough for 5 new soldiers. Hydra sent the original Winter Soldier after the case and….. And he was instructed to murder Howard. My mom just….. She just happened to be with him at the time….. He…. I….. watched as he forced their car off the road, pulled my father from the car and beat his face in.” Tony’s face was frozen and there was absolutely no emotion now. His voice was still flat even as it stumbled through the retelling. Pepper and Rhodey’s eyes were round with horror. Pepper’s shone with tears she couldn’t let fall.

“My dad….he begged him to help my mom, but he didn’t. He punched him enough with the metal fist to cave his skull. Then he….. Put him back in the car walked around and reached inside…. With his other hand and…. He…. choked my mom to death. I was too stunned to do anything for a few moments but I was aware enough to notice Steve was…. He was hovering. When I finally blinked aware and looked up to see Barnes watching me I moved to go to him but Steve he…. Grabbed me so fast…. It was like he knew how I’d react….. So I asked if he knew. He fucking KNEW for 2 goddamn YEARS and never told me. He let me fund his cross country search for Barnes KNOWING he’d been the one to kill my parents!”

Loki was stunned. So was everyone else and no one could move. Tony seemed to hunch over curling into himself as he slid off the couch onto the floor. He was shaking. Shaking so badly Loki felt concern for his recovery…. To lose both parents to murder…. To watch it happen? Loki wanted to do something, anything for Stark but he didn’t dare move to touch him.

Pepper on the other hand, fell off the coffee table and reached for him. He went easily into her lap to lay his head on her. The men in the room were left watching and wanting to help

Tony’s voice, when it came again, was watery and weak. Though he did not cry.

“Why didn’t he tell me? If he’d told me maybe…. I wouldn’t have reacted that way…. If he could have just trusted me to listen to him…. Barnes was…. He was brainwashed. I understand that. The…. murders…. That was the Soldier, not…. Not Barnes. Not Bucky. FUCK. All the time spent hearing about the Howling Commandos and Bucky was always my favorite. Now I find out he’s…. His hands killed my parents….Steve knew and kept it from me…. He lied to me…. He…. I was so angry I just went after him and Steve took his side…. Maybe I wasn’t thinking clearly…. Maybe he had to because I would’ve killed Bucky if he didn’t….. God damn it! If they’d just pinned me and talked to me I could have calmed down! He didn’t have to beat me nearly to death, impale my reactor with that shield and leave me there…… If you’d been any slower Loki….. I would have died…..”

Loki was watching Stark as his body hung on to Ms Potts for dear life and a flicker licked against his ribs. His heart seemed to suddenly burn with a hatred he’d rarely encountered in his long life on another person’s behalf. He knew what having a murdered mother was like. It was an unimaginable pain.

It was now something he shared with Anthony.

He looked away from the newly created god and into his friend’s faces and found his anger and shock nearly matched.

The Accords and the confusion surrounding them and revisions they needed were one thing. Getting the rogue criminals to fighting status before the battle was upon them was another.

But Loki vowed he would **_NEVER_ ** ask Anthony to welcome the Captain or his back stabbing entourage back into his home again. Together with the friends Anthony still had, they would prepare for Thanos and ensure nothing of this caliber would ever happen to the billionaire again.

  


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

It took Stark Industry legal team nearly 4 days to break down the Accords. Two days after that with help from Vision, Rhodey, Loki (on a headset and in secret) and Tony to get the right clauses all included.  

Each country that signed the Accords (117 of them to date) would have a national avengers team. Each team would coordinate and request neighboring teams if the need arose in a catastrophe like the Chitauri or Sokovia incidents.

During that week after he got home from the hospital, Tony spent his days on the Accords and his nights just thinking. He thought deeply on what he should do about Rogers. If the end goal was more fighters, he would need him to step up. Tony didn’t think stepping up would be the problem. It would be more likely problematic when orders came down that Rogers didn’t like. As such, some of the contracts included in the Accords ended up stating a clear chain of command.

Rogers wasn’t going to like reporting to a council of politicians, but it was all the same dance he’d done during WWII. Just to different music. He’d have to get with the program or get out of the way.

They all sat around the table in the kitchen after the final draft was sent off and had a strangely peaceful dinner.

Most of the time someone, usually Bruce, would have brought him dinner in the lab while everyone else ate together communal style. Really, he didn’t mind at all and most of the time he forgot to eat anyway. But with a sudden clarity, he realized that the Avengers were never such a tight knit group. Well, maybe they were without him….. But they’d definitely been lax in including him in any relaxation they ever participated in. Group dinners, Movie nights, casual outings as friends…

Just thinking about Rogers…. He got so damn angry! After the Chitauri invasion, the other 4 had moved into his tower. He’d even renamed the fucking thing! Granted Thor was usually off world most of the time, but the others all used his home in NYC for their base of operations. He’d given them apartments, entire FLOORS in his tower. Always stocked their kitchen with all manors of things…… filled their wardrobes with designer everything so on the off chance they’d agreed to go to a Stark Fundraiser or Avenger’s Gala, they’d be prepared…. Hell! He’d even created new and never before seen tech for all for them without being paid a dime by SHIELD.

On top of being the main developer and inventor for his company, which needed cutting edge designs to stay on top and raking in money (so he could afford to front the cost of the Avenger’s Initiative as well as all his charity work, payroll, and company overhead), he still had to make time to actually train his body, fight the bad guys, do the PR to keep both his own company AND the Avengers in a positive light with the masses. No wonder he hadn’t felt like he’d slept in years…..

It was as he was thinking that thought over and not sure how he should evolve from his past mistakes in judgement, he got a call from Secretary Ross.

It was not pleasant.

The Rogues had escaped the raft.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to explain the lawyers and how he actually revised the accords but in the end I didn't think it needed detail to be believable. Tony had his breakdown and now his friends are pissed. Tony's begun to look back on the last 5+ years and realize how NOT cool everything was and he'd going to be making some serious changes for his new recruiting process.
> 
> If the Rogues make it back from Wakanda.... they aren't going to be happy!
> 
> WOW! 2 chapter updates in a single day! I must be on fire again!!! Thankfully this chap ended up a regular length and not super short! Hope you like it :-)


	5. Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to fall into place now and other things totally unexpected are being uncovered....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah.... here's another longer one! <3

With the Accords Council breathing down their necks, he did a half sincere search for the Rogues, but didn’t find them. Tony was pretty sure that left only one place they could have been. After all, the entire world operated on security cameras and traffic lights… things FRIDAY could tap into. The fact his facial recognition hadn’t picked them up at all, meant they were hiding off the grid. Only one place ‘off the grid’ could provide the tech support for a mangled metal arm.

While his algorithm was running, he’d spent time working on a leg brace design to help Rhodey walk on his own power again. Loki was a surprising resource when he offered to enhance Tony’s work with magic to help make movement seamless and as easy as moving his own legs.

It meant the mass produced braces wouldn’t be as effective as the version his friend had…. But it was a good start in the medical prosthetic field. Rhodey laughed and told him the accident had paved the way for yet another company to form under the massive umbrella of Stark Industries.

Because Tony was Tony, he transferred 50% of the new company to Rhodes, making him both his equal partner, and obscenely rich.

Loki caught himself wondering about exactly how selfless Anthony really was and if he could truly overcome the betrayals and pain of his past. He knew the Rogues were out of sight but never out of mind for the inventor and it worried him how hard Anthony was working.

Even if the others all admitted this was normal behavior for the man.

He’d had fun tasting various Midgardian dishes while Anthony had been calibrating his body and while the five of them might have started out barely civil, he was finding he was quickly becoming attached to each.

Happy had a no nonsense shorthand with Anthony that he found curious and fun to watch.

Pepper Potts had an indomitable will and a spine of steel he only saw on rare occasions and usually regarding paperwork for Stark Industries but could in fact activate when Anthony had spent more than 24 hours straight in his workshop. He chuckled when her ire was pointed at anyone else…… She reminded him of Frigga, and while that hurt him, he’d decided that bit of sweet pain was worth it if he could begin to forgive her for allowing the greatest lie of his life. He did still love her after all.

James Rhodes was accepting of him to a point. He appreciated the magical additions to his braces and Loki could see how much the metal contraptions had been causing him pain before. The total lack of it did more than any truths he could have told to get Rhodes to like him.

Anthony had spent a lot of time with him dissecting the Accords after the lawyers were done with it. Because he’d had experience in diplomacy of this sort, he’d found himself working hours on end without realizing they’d worked through meals…. Even with the added volume of food Anthony now needed…. He still had a habit of going almost too long between meals.

Loki had always been the same.

They’d bonded over the conference table. Throwing out options back and forth for revisions and hammering away at the contract that would be the basis for the entire realms dealings with enhanced beings.

They’d even added a section for outherworld inhabitants living on earth regardless of if they wished to fight or not.

Loki had been covertly waiting for a breakdown. Even when he’d collapsed into Potts’ arms on the retelling, he hadn’t cried. Perhaps he was strong enough to keep the tears away, but Loki couldn’t imagine it.

Loki had left the conference room briefly to use the restroom and overheard Rhodey talking to Happy one time when the chauffeur was on his way to bring them dinner.

“It’s rotten. All of it. Sometimes I just get so angry on his behalf I wish I had the super soldier serum so I could beat the shit out of him. To think, Tony grew up hearing nothing except how good and just and perfect Steve was…. No matter what he ever did, it was never good enough to get even a ‘good job’ from his father. I just…. He’d heard that shit his entire childhood. Made to feel like he would never measure up to that…. Then find out Howard’s golden ideal was so wrong! I can’t imagine what he’s really thinking. Did you know that asshole didn’t even do more than shrug his shoulders and scold Tony for sneaking into his workshop when he managed to built his first circuit board when he was four? Four, Happy. Some four year olds can’t even write their names yet. Tony built a working circuit board. Sometimes I wonder what Tony would have turned into if his father gave a shit.”

Loki watched as Happy set the food out all over the island in the kitchen as Rhodes shook his head and sighed.

“I know it’s hard for him but he hides that pain away so well. I know he feels it. Knowing how he felt about Rogers and being a part of the Avengers, a founding member even…. I know I’ve heard him make a comment before about wondering if his father was finally proud of him….” Happy added as he turned to make up a giant plate for his boss.

Loki figured he’d better backtrack and make a new, louder entrance.

That moment, among all the rest, would stand out the most to Loki until nearly a month after Anthony was healed. He would look back later and realize this was perhaps when he started to feel something for the inventor.

 

\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////

 

He watched via a scrying bowl with Pepper hovering over his shoulder as Anthony and Rhodes strut into the Accords Council meeting to discuss the final draft they’d finished nearly 3 weeks ago.

Pepper snorted delicately as Ross was shot down as the Accords Liaison for the Avengers. No way in hell Tony would let that jackass be the mouthpiece for all of them. They needed someone they could trust. Someone uncorrupted that truly believed in what the Avengers and the Accords stood for.

The council was still undecided on that, but they were able to push into legislature the building of dorms onto the Upstate New York facility. Avengers Tower was to be reverted into Stark Tower with dedicated conference floors and medical facilities in case of necessity. From just a bit of research, Tony knew Spiderman wasn’t the only enhanced person living near Manhattan.

He didn’t want to look into approaching any of them until he had everything all set up to house them if they chose that option.

It was truly amazing how a ten minute meeting could be stretched out to over 4 hours. When it was all over and they could leave, Tony was really jonesing for some way to release built up tension. Really, how thick were those heads in there? Everything proposed was all common sense. Maybe he was just giving them all too much credit in the intelligence department.

As the pair left the hearing room, they caught King T’Challa and his sister, the princess, as they were making their own way to the landing pad. They’d arrived via jet. Surprisingly, the King hadn’t had a whole lot to contribute to the meeting, but his sister had some valid points and even voiced a few of Tony’s own concerns during it.

He assumed he’d have this unsettled irritation directed at T’Challa for a while. At least until his kitty highness decided to give him an explanation or apology as to why he left Tony in Siberia and carted Rogers and Barnes off with their prisoner. The guy hadn’t even sent an SOS on Tony’s behalf as he left.

He caught Rhodey’s eye and his friend gave him a nod and called out to get their attention.

“Your Highness! A moment please?”

Rhodey paced evenly with Tony as they strode across the distance, noting the slight flicker of uneasiness to the King’s eyes. They didn’t bow. Tony only pulled up his briefcase and unlatched it. Shuri looked on with curiosity as he whipped out 6 packets of paperwork each in their own folder with each Rogue’s name across the front. He handed them over to the King without a word.

The look of mild shock and the increase in the man’s uneasiness was the only thing Tony could see before T’Challa buried it under a stoic face. Tony flashed his best media smile at him before nodding his head at Shuri. His smiled dimmed but turned a bit more real for her. As soon as T’Challa had his hands full, Tony dropped eye contact, closed his case and spun on his heel. The Colonel tossed a “Have a safe flight” over his shoulder as they strode over to their waiting suits without a backwards glance.

They missed how T’Challa stared at the folders in his hands looking uncomfortable and ten kinds of guilty, or how Shuri elbowed him in the back and scoffed as she left him on the tarmac confused while she took her seat inside.

 

\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////

 

By the time they flew back to the tower and had their suits brought to the workshop, Loki and Pepper were unpacking an early dinner. Tonight was Tai and Loki was finding that he actually enjoyed rather spicy foods. Something about not having intricate flavors on Asgard.

Tony tried to relax as they all ate and commented on things they wished they could’ve said to Ross’ face or just in general when one of the other council members had something ridiculous to add. Pepper didn’t do much but snicker into her food but Loki…. Tony couldn’t stop laughing.

For a guy that lived in a medieval golden civilization, the guy had no shortage of sass. He couldn’t get over how totally different personality wise, Loki was from Thor.

Unfortunately, the food and good conversation hadn’t really helped much with his antsy behavior and the god noticed.

“Is something bothering you Anthony?”

Tony would swear that cheeky bastard was smirking at him because he already knew what was up with him. He shrugged and popped the last piece of his chicken into his mouth and chewed with an air of thoughtfulness.

“Well, now that you mention it…. I’m irritated by those idiots…. All the idiots, really. I was thinking maybe it’s been long enough that I could start testing my strength and stamina in the gym. Wanna help a guy out? You’re kinda the only one that can spar with me now, and I’d rather not risk a suit to test my limits…”

Elegant hands folded under an upturned chin as Loki debated but didn’t keep a straight face for long. His eyes were already swimming in what Tony was told was his rising seidr. His magic was waking up. Eyes sparking with a more vibrant flowing green. Tony remembered their conversation a few days prior when Tony pointed out that seeing the manifestation of his magic would give him away if he was going for stealth and asked why the god hadn’t hidden it. The response wasn’t what Tony had anticipated though, hiding it under an illusion was one of the first things he’d ever learned. Loki only let it show when he wished it to be seen.

The billionaire was absolutely certain Loki was letting him see his seidr rising at this moment to make sure he knew he wouldn’t go easy on him in a spar…. The smirk twisting his lips was turning into something way more…. seductive. A grin that promised a challenge….. Tony was a total sucker for that…. In addition to the model looks, bad boy attitude and gorgeous laugh. Damn that laugh! It seemed to caress the air and his skin and Loki knew how to use it.

Loki began to chuckle and all Tony could think about was ‘one month’. He mentally groaned…. A MONTH. He’d only known the god four damn weeks. He should’ve known having Loki stick around was going to damage him in some way… Being even remotely attracted to him was such a BAD IDEA. Maybe if he was careful, the god wouldn’t figure out he found him attractive, engaging, interesting and….. Yeah, he was going to stop right there.

Tony just told himself it was already impossible. His luck wasn’t that good and the guy was a thousand years old. He was sure as shit that Loki’d been through a whole host of lovers and was well versed in seeing the signs in someone else. He’d just have to resign himself and hope if Loki saw his attraction, he was polite enough not to comment on it. At least until after they saved the universe.

 

\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////

 

Tony had only ever really spared with Happy or Rhodey in a ring. Yeah, he had other teachers over the years but he knew going in that this was going to hurt. Loki came from a warrior society. He’d probably been trained in hand to hand and with weapons since like, he was old enough to walk.

Knowing that, and remembering the manic gleam of his features when he had led the Chitauri, Tony couldn’t help but realize how different the god was now.

He watched as Loki moved with a calm calculation before he'd strike.

He had the strange mental image of a viper lashing out. Those long arms and legs didn’t dissuade the notion. Tony was nearly overwhelmed trying to keep up and not get punched or kicked across the room.

If he’d been able to watch Loki, he would’ve been even more entranced. He moved with a liquid grace that seemed impossible. Tony remembered watching his fight with Thor on his balcony all those years ago... remembered how easy it was for the brothers to anticipate each others moves. This was different.

He had no idea really how to counter Loki in a fight and it showed as hit after hit started actually landing before he decided to start evading. As soon as he started defensively anticipating the god’s moves Loki started grinning even more and it was that damn look that made Tony start to track just a fraction slower. He was too distracted and Loki used that to repeatedly toss him down to the mats after each time Tony managed to get up.

“I believe Anthony, you’ll need quite a bit of work. Didn’t the others ever work on your actual fighting skills? You’re like a babe. You’ll have to learn everything from the ground up.”

The next blow caught him completely off guard as he listened to Loki talk.

He ended up on his back with a god straddling him smirking. Instead of calling the spar, it triggered a sensory memory of Rogers pinning him down in his suit.

Instead of how he’d assume he would react to being so close to the god, his eyes dilated in fear instead of arousal and he froze, his breath caught in his chest.

Loki knew immediately something was wrong. His seidr recoiled within him trying to force him away from the man. He’d been so enjoying this little romp that he hadn’t realized in what position they’d ended up. At least, for a being as smart as he was, he hadn’t thought of how it would affect Anthony.

He teleported off to the side with a worried frown as Anthony took a gasping breath. Hands raising to his chest shaking, he watched as the man rubbed at his reactor and rolled over and sat up facing Loki.

The blind panic in his shining amber eyes tore something inside the god. He’d felt hatred and anger for what had been done to the man but, now he felt a shadow of the panic, the pain he was in. Loki knew a panic attack. He’d suffered through enough of them himself.

With a sinking feeling, he felt his seidr curl within and try to reach out a soothing tendril. He was afraid to startle, or make Anthony feel worse. He’d never had anyone to hold him through his own episodes and he wasn’t sure if that was what was needed.

He watched Anthony take a few unsteady breaths before he let his magic touch his arm.

Tony turned his head to look down at it, effectively startling him enough to make him pause his reaction. Loki caught the rapid blinks and head tilt. So Anthony could see his magic fairly easily…. He knew he wasn’t trying to make it flashy in any way to send Anthony down into a longer spiral. The only reasoning he could see was the man could not just sense but also physically see his seidr. This wasn’t like when he intentionally made his eyes flicker with power.

Because Anthony seemed to be coming back to himself via his curiosity, Loki pushed more power out and made his tendril multiply into swirling vines of light that softly prodded and touched here and there, usually where he’d connected with a fist or knee etc.

The lick of pain before he morphed his power to heal, had Anthony wetting his lips and looking over at him. Aside from the usual reactions he was cataloguing, Loki was confused for a second over the flush he could see quickly sweeping over the other man’s features after being so pale.

Loki was sure it didn’t mean what he thought it could mean…. But just as he was about to open his mouth to delivery a bit of snark, they heard something seemingly loud echo in the air.

They both looked over and saw a flash of golden light as a raven, larger than normal for Midgard created a shimmering portal through the window and coasted inside.

Tony stared with his mouth dropping open.

Loki got into a crouch staring at it with a blank expression. He noticed the bird had a scroll attached to it’s leg and he slowly moved towards it.

It lifted a claw as Loki stopped so the god had no choice but to reach out and untangle the message. Tony was finally back to himself, at least enough to stand up and skirt along behind Loki. All Loki did was nod and tuck his hands away from the bird.

“Thank you Muninn. You may return to Odin.”

The bird just cocked its head this and that way and ruffled it’s feathers, settling down waiting.

Loki never liked the ravens that much, they liked to pick at him on occasion. This one in particular… but if Odin wanted his response, the bird wouldn’t leave until he had it.

Sighing, Loki opened the scroll and held his breath. Tony looked around his arm but the text was unfamiliar.

 

 

**_Loki,_ **

**_I must admit that had I foreseen how instrumental and capable you would be taking my place, I might not have worried after you for so long. Upon my awakening, I have sensed the threat moving from outside our universe._ **

**_He comes and it will not be much longer now._ **

**_You’ve already done much more than I had ever expected and I must ask you to continue your work on Midgard. They must be readied as best they can be. I will send your brother to you. I expect you to work together with him as well as the Man of Iron and his allies. I know you will not disappoint. Our survival depends on it. I will pray the Norns bless our house for one more battle._ **

**_Thank you for everything my son._ **

**_Odin_ **

 

Loki knew he was frozen reading the words over and over again. He must have read the blasted thing three times before he felt the sharp peck at his hair. The damn bird had settled on a piece of gym equipment next to him and he hadn’t even noticed it move….

Emotion crashed through him, some he was utterly surprised he could still feel for the man he’d once loved and looked up to. He knew he had to give the raven some kind of response, but knowing Muninn could be read easily by Odin, he settled on nodding once with a thoughtful look. He didn’t exactly want to voice this out loud, but with Anthony’s body heat radiating so close to his elbow, he knew the other man was going mad with curiosity.

“Thank you Odin. I will pray for the same.”

That was the most he could offer. He couldn’t really refer to the man as his father. He was still petty and angry enough about a thousand year lie… but he could give him that much. Let him read between the lines if he would.

He could feel Anthony nearly vibrating with contained energy but thankfully he waited as the raven cawed and ruffled himself again before he took back to the air. The giant bird had just phased through the window when he felt the other man’s hand on his forearm.

For some reason he felt like he was turning through a thick molasses, but he managed to look at Anthony.

For a once-human who was still so scared of his own emotions, he could easily see how thrown Loki was by whatever was in that letter. He didn’t even register reaching out to touch him, but once he realized it, there was no easy way to take the touch back without looking like an idiot.

Instead he gave a little tug.

“You look like you could use a drink.”

Loki blink at him, took and held a breath before responding. That wasn’t like him at all….

“Yes. I believe that would be best.” Tony watched as the god jerked himself into motion to start towards the double doors and in the direction of alcohol.

It was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ever have one idea of how a scene is gonna go and then instead of the predictable, you get a character making his trauma known instead and it totally derails what you were originally planning for the characters relationship in general?
> 
> ......yeah. That happened.
> 
> Comment if you saw that letter coming or if you assumed Odin was gonna continue to be his big dickish self LOL  
> Just like in Ragnarok, Odin cant erase a thousand years of Loki's pain with a few simple words. Notice how he said he was surprised but not proud? Yeah that word is still pretty much reserved for Thor. Or at least that's what Loki is probably going to walk away with from reading that letter a billion more times.
> 
> My poor babies.... I just wanna hug them both!


	6. Male Bonding at its finest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Tony bond a bit and Loki realizes a few things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO SO SORRY it has taken me THIS freaking LONG to update! Suffice it to say, life in general has not been very kind to me in the last 6 months. I got pneumonia, had my hours increased to full time because they were short staffed, been stressed about finances, got the flu, lost my job completely, and all while trying to start my own business at the same time. Rest assured things might be less frequent than every week, but I AM going to try to get this fic done!
> 
> I'm currently hung up near the ending on Revelations as well. I wrote most of it and then stalled and suffered serious block for 2+ months. Thank god other writers are still writing and feeding my frostiron addictions....

 

Now, Tony wasn’t  even remotely an expert on emotions. He was sure he was pretty terrible at realizing his own or anyone else’s. To him, there was something about the stunned silence surrounding Loki as he left the gym and made his way to the elevator.

Tony was left trailing after him because he really wasn’t sure he should leave the god alone on his and Thor’s floor. He could just see the thunderer trying to be helpful and just setting Loki off.

Noticing the god hadn’t hit a button, Tony hit the one for his penthouse. At least that way he could try to get the god some privacy….

What about this situation was screaming that he needed to give Loki some calm and quiet?

He wasn’t totally sure, but he decided to error on the side of caution and ushered the diety to his bar. Tony knew Thor’s insane alcohol tolerance and instead of pouring a couple fingers of scotch like he did for himself, he filled a tumbler and slowly slid it in front of him.

Loki sipped without much thought but eventually by the time half the scotch was gone, his unfocused eyes had begun to clear and Tony, who had been giving Loki his privacy by staring out into the bright sunlight of the Manhattan skyline heard the surprised hum rumble out of the god.

“This is quite good…” He murmured.

Tony gave a small smirk and nodded before unhurriedly making his way around the bar to prop himself up on a stool beside Loki. If the god was talking, maybe he was ready to explain the letter. His curiosity was burning him alive.

“Yeah, I tend to like the best stuff Lokes. Thought you already knew that?” The little bit of snark was meant to help defuse any lingering tension. Tony’s blood pressure was still a bit high from the nearly full blown panic attack in the gym but his worry over Loki’s strange reaction was overriding everything else.

“How could I forget? My apologies…” Snark. If he was sassing Tony, he was okay.

“So…. letter by raven. That’s a new one for me. From Odin or Thor?” He was betting Odin by the reaction.

“...... Odin.” He watched Loki drain the glass and glance to the shelf on the wall that held most of the other liquors.

Bingo. Got it in one. He had plenty of his own issues with his own father, he wasn’t sure how to broach the subject. He settled for sipping his drink and making a noncommittal noise.

He had let his gaze wander back to the clouds and blue sky trying to think of something not offensive to say when he heard Loki make an exasperated sound and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up for half a second. He looked back in time to see a few elegant fingers twirl in the air and a dark bottle appear in a shimmer of light.

So Loki was actually a wine drinker. Good to know.

“.... It was basically allowing me to stay on Midgard and help ready it. Surprisingly, he wasn’t angry at the deception I had to use to get my orders followed.”

Tony scowled a bit and finished off his drink, pouring another.

“You did a good job getting the other worlds ready for the fight, right? How could he be mad at that?”

Loki took a deep breath and transfigured his tumbler into a large wine glass. He poured his wine while pursing his lips, eyebrows drawn down in a scowl.

“Nothing is ever good enough. He expressed his surprise that I managed all that I did, as competently as I did though….” Tony could do nothing but stare with widened eyes and raised eyebrows until Loki flickered his gaze sideways at the silence. Anthony just seemed to be waiting for him to look at him because he shook his head for a moment then gave Loki a response he wouldn’t have thought the once-mortal would have given.

“He has no fucking clue how hard you worked does he? Did he ever? The more I hear about Asgard and Odin, the more it makes me think of my own father.” Loki could do nothing but freeze and blink as Anthony took a large swig and his glass clicked against the bar top with a bit more force than it should have.

“Your father….. Did he never truly see your accomplishments either? I was always….. Well, overshadowed by Thor would be a good description…. But you were an only child, were you not?”

“.....yeah. That kind of makes it worse right? I was his only kid. I did crazy advanced things as early as preschool, 4 years old……. But I was always reprimanded for ‘playing in his lab’ or ‘distracting him from his work’..... Pawned off on our maid and butler constantly….. I came to eventually love them more than my actual parents…. But still. Powerful father that never fucking admits he’s proud of you or sees you for who you actually are…..” Loki’s face slackened in shock. He hadn’t thought he had quite so much in common with the man. Certainly if he had guessed, he would have also assumed Anthony would keep this information close to his vest for years to come. It struck him as not common knowledge…. Loki was both surprised at himself for opening himself up, but also that Anthony was commiserating with him about his own abysmal childhood.

Perhaps the near panic attack combined with alcohol of this strength was loosening the man’s tongue more than Anthony would have liked. Loki couldn’t say that  **_he_ ** didn’t like it though.

Trying to change the subject seemed the right move, but after such sharing by his host, he could hardly change the topic to something mundane….

“You know, I disguised myself as Odin, even though the Odinforce, his spear, recognized me as the rightful heir and ruler mainly because of the entire fiasco surrounding the first time I held the title while he was sleeping some years back. I knew without a doubt there would be much more suspicion this time around and it most likely wouldn’t have been just the Gatekeeper and my once-friends that disobeyed me.” He averted his eyes from those curious amber ones and sighed a little, finishing off his glass.

“That's shit Loki. I don’t, I mean I can’t exactly understand everything myself, as we’re very democratic here…. But being betrayed…. “ Loki glanced back in time to see the warm eyes he was beginning to adore, darken in anger. In shared pain as well as anger on his behalf and it softened the deep ache that still struck him in odd moments when he thought about the past. He was touched that Anthony was upset on his behalf, but he didn’t like when the anger was useless and at the moment, anger would serve no one. He vanished the bottle again to his pocket dimension and reached out, cupped Anthony’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. His emerald gaze never left the inventors eyes as they lightened back up and his face softened.

Where his once friends were not actual friends at all, Anthony was fastly becoming a friend to him. A cherished shield brother. Someone that was not only willing but adamant that he share the responsibilities Loki had begun to think of as his alone to carry as atonement for his sins.

Loki realized this friendship, though new, was exactly what both of them would need if they hoped to get through this entire ordeal with the Mad Titan. 

The moment between them was soft and in it, Loki knew Anthony understood him without words. He was suddenly so grateful to the rogue avengers for throwing away a marvelous treasure of a soul as Anthony. Loki was already sure he would benefit in many more ways than just an ally against Thanos….

He was certain he had found a kindred spirit and he thanked the Norns that they saw fit to bring Anthony so low at a time when Loki was in a position to offer him the golden apple.

If they survived the coming war of the realms….. Loki was sure that he would never be so alone again. 


	7. The Rogues, BARF & Is this a date?!?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rogues get their laymen Accords. Enter James Barnes. Wait, is this a date?
> 
> (After churning out this monster chapter 5838 words dear GOD. I am beyond burnt out and I can't write a proper chapter summary. Enjoy.)
> 
> PLEASE COMMENT. TELL ME IF SOMETHING FEELS OFF.

**\\\\\\\\\/////-WAKANDA-\\\\\\\\\//////**

 

Steve closed the packet with slow turn of his hand and stared at the tabletop. He could hear someone’s foot tapping quickly under the table. Probably Clint. He was almost afraid to look up and gauge everyone’s reaction to this stripped down version of the Accords. Tony had obviously spent time changing things and reducing others into easier to understand language…. For them.

He’d done what he had thought was right following all the recent findings of HYDRA infiltrating SHIELD and went on his gut. It was failable, sure…. But he believed wholeheartedly that Bucky wouldn’t have gotten a fair trial in the states, much less been allowed to try to heal like he was trying to do here….. And he couldn’t lose him, not after just finding him again.

He heard a soft throat clearing and looked up to find Natasha staring directly at him. He couldn’t tell much by her demeanor, as usual when she was unsure how to proceed. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders as Clint huffed and flopped his final page over.

Steve didn’t miss the glance he threw at Scott.

He also wouldn’t fault them for taking a plea deal to reunite with their families. He wasn’t heartless. He just knew his family was Bucky, maybe to a smaller extent, Tasha and Sam.

“This…. Actually isn’t that bad. We could work with this. If they had been this way to begin with, maybe we wouldn’t all be in this mess.” He was a bit worried about how fast things had been evolving though. T’Challa had always kept them apprised of happenings on the Council and it was that knowledge of Tony’s dealings to work the Accords in their favor as well as his clipped tone at the end of that statement that had Natasha folding her hands together and glancing at everyone else before returning to him.

“We didn’t give Tony enough time I suppose, and I know you had other reasons to fight this Steve…. No one is faulting you there. I miss my god-kids. Clint misses them too. I think it’s reasonable. I think we should return and see how it all pans out.”

He saw Clint scowl at the table for a second and Steve knew something was coming….

“Why couldn’t he have figured all this shit out before? I mean, Stark’s always implying he’s five steps ahead of us so why weren’t they completed to this degree before he ever brought it up? Woulda saved a lot of hassle and groveling I’ll have to do with Laura…..”

Scott wasn’t usually one to express his opinions loudly. He liked to read a situation first, but even Steve could see him nod and the light spark in his eyes. Light that Steve hadn’t realized had been dulled after their forced exile. It was obvious his entire team wanted to either go home or was looking to him to make his decision (in the case of Sam and Tasha). Wanda had her chin on her hand staring into space.

“Wanda? What are your thoughts here?” He had to ask. She was the only one that didn’t seem to want to voice an opinion.

“I think…. I would like to see Vision again. If I have to put up with Stark’s crap, I will. Being able to live as I want and not cooped up in this palace..,” She tapered off and her eyes unfocused for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders and gave a ‘what can we do?’ expression before continuing, “..... and I see no issue with the New Accords that would prove a problem for me.”

Steve held her gaze for a moment and looked to each of his team. Everyone either nodded curtly to him or….. Wait. Bucky was staring at the packet with his brows drawn together.

“Buck? What’s wrong?” He watched the other soldier blink back to himself and pull a smile onto his face.

“Nothing it’s just, from the way you all talked before about these Accords, it seems Tony managed a helluva lot pretty quick. It’s only really been what? A full month since we left him?”

Natasha flicked her gaze quickly back to Steve and saw the twitch of his eyebrow. From Bucky’s tone and physical body language, she guessed he felt bad about something, but Steve either didn’t feel the same or….. Or he was still angry about Tony’s reaction.

If she was truthful with herself, she might be able to see why Tony had reacted as strongly…. But she hadn’t had parents growing up, she had no reference for the pain Tony had felt once he realized his parents had been murdered….. She knew how normal people would probably react, knowing how normal people thought was in her training. She just hadn’t figured Tony would snap so hard and try to kill Steve and Bucky. (At least, this was what Steve had told her. She had also previously betrayed Tony and he hadn’t reacted with much more than just a bit of extra snark some days. Yes she and Steve had kept the truth from him, but it HAD been to protect him. She didn’t understand what the big deal was.)

“Yeah, shows what Stark can do when he has good motivation, right Cap?” Clint chimed in.

Steve could do nothing but nod and tell them he would speak with T’Challa about figuring out how to clear their names and get transport back to the states. He also had to find a way to ask for the King’s help smoothing over their entrance back into the Avengers Initiative after they were told they would be living upstate in dorms at the compound instead of in Tony’s private tower. Without the SHIELD paycheck or Tony’s generosity, they wouldn’t have as much as they’d had before….. But being able to go back home was all he really cared about and he knew Bucky wanted to be in New York again too.

He would do what needed to be done to get them all home but something nagged him.

He was glad Tony seemed to be healthy and in good spirits….. According to what T’Challa had said…. But he knew how badly Tony was injured, or sort of. He had an idea at least, but his priority was Bucky with his arm ripped off and concussed…. Hell, Steve had been pretty out of it too. He couldn’t quite figure out how Tony was healed within weeks of Siberia to be back hammering out the details of the Accords. He and Bucky were fit as they could be in about 4 days….. But that was with the serum and he knew Tony should’ve taken similar injuries. There was no way those kinds of things could be completely healed that fast in a regular human

That knowledge was something that constantly ate at his conscious as the days had turned to weeks in Wakanda but he figured once they were back he would find out what had happened.

 

**\\\\\\\\\/////-BUCKY-\\\\\\\\\//////**

 

It was when he was alone in his room while Steve was off talking to the King that he pulled out the little sticky note and stared at it again. It had very messy, very male looking handwriting. He took a moment and closed his eyes. He couldn’t tell if this was real or a trap for him. He had a visceral reaction around Tony, he knew that. His guilt made it hard to look at the man. The fight in Russia had left a pretty strong impression as well. He shouldn’t be welcomed back. No one should want him anywhere NEAR the Stark heir, least of all Tony himself.

Thanks to the Princess though, he could recall much more of his life. He remembered the easy friendship he’d had with Howard. The Commandos. Peggy. He remembered much of his life as Bucky. But he was also plagued by nightmares, insomnia, PTSD….. He could feel the Winter Soldier on the edge of his consciousness in moments of tension….

He wasn’t better, but he was getting more stable. Shuri warned him that she couldn’t completely erase the triggers in his mind as they were embedded so deep. She’d also chatted with him about Tony in general… his advancements in medical science and his personality in general.

He wasn’t a fool. He had biased opinions in regards to the man from Steve’s team. He wanted to hear an outsiders opinion. Preferably someone who was also up on current events. The Princess was definitely all of those and not afraid to tell him her thoughts on anything.

Based on her comments about Tony…. He had to conclude the note was genuine. He looked down again at the bright yellow square stuck to the inside pocket of the folder he was given.

“Parents not your fault. Sorry about the fight.” It had a phone number written on the other side of the paper. Everything about this made him cautious but he really wanted to try to clear the tension as much as he could before they all got back home….. He wanted to gauge how much Tony was really willing to forgive him.

He also couldn’t forget a comment Shuri had made under her breath earlier this week while they were talking about his triggers…. How Stark had a jump on her in that area….

The nerves came back and he pulled out his phone and typed in the numbers. That comment kept echoing in his mind as he stared at the green call symbol. He felt his nerves call the sharpened senses of the Soldier and took a breath before hitting call.

  
  


**\\\\\\\\\/////-NEW YORK-\\\\\\\\\//////**

 

It was the afternoon following the raven visit and he and Loki had met to go over what exactly they could do to clear his name and get the Counsel on their side preparing for Thanos when Friday interrupted them.

“Excuse me Boss, but a cell phone pinging from Wakanda is calling your private number.”

Tony caught Loki’s contemplative gaze and muttered “That was fast….. Okay, Friday. Patch it through.”

His tablet on the coffee table between them lit up and he flicked it up to throw a hologram screen up between them, facing him. Tapping it once, the line connected and he could see a blank faced Bucky with his eyebrows just slightly drawn.

“Hey there Sargeant, how’s Wakanda?” Tony tried for nonchalance as he sat back against the couch.

“….. Hot. I got your note.”

“Yeap, Kind of figured that. So…..I just wanted to let you know that I don’t blame you for my parents…. Your hands but not your will….I’ve studied everything I could hack from SHIELD about you and what was done to you…. For all of that, I’m sorry. Your life has been hell. I wish Steve had trusted me enough to tell me ahead of finding you. If I had time to think about it all…. Fuck. I wouldn’t have attacked you at all.”

Loki leaned forward and studied Anthony’s expressions and posture. It was clear to him that Anthony had indeed made some remarkable headway in this instance. Ever since explaining the cause behind the fight that almost killed him, Loki felt even more attached to the man. So many instances of their lives being similar…. Even down to their murdered mothers. He was becoming rather protective.

The shock showed through even as he tried to keep his face neutral. Bucky’s shoulders rose slowly and then dropped as he took a deep fortifying breath. It took a moment for him to decide on his words.

“You’re serious?”

“Yes.” Tony replied as he nodded then leaned forward a bit. “I know T’Challa will probably help get you back to the states, but I wanted to reach out to you and make sure you knew. I know we probably won’t be buddies, but to work together for the common good, we need to at least move past this part of our history.” Tony’s eyes flicked up to look at Loki over the tablet. They shared a barely perceptible nod before Tony looked back to the screen. “We have to be prepared. The world’s about to change again and we’ll have to fight together someday soon. I don’t want this between us.”

Through the small speech Bucky had felt the Soldier slowly relax. Not enough to truly fade from his mind, but it was enough to make him take notice. Because of that, Bucky decided Tony was probably telling the truth here and his eyes closed for a moment to gather his thoughts again.

“I don’t either. Everything Shuri’s said during my treatments has been kinda opposite to what Steve and the others implied and I kind of want to decide for myself if you’re a good man.”

Tony huffed and gave a small smirk and shrug. “Ditto. So…. when you get back, come see me and we can talk about BARF.”

The eye bulge and confusion on Bucky’s face was comical enough to have the once-mortal laugh out right and Loki pause. Anthony hadn’t spoken to him about it, and the literal translation of that word was rather confusing and disgusting so he waited with the soldier to have the man explain.

He was clearing his throat but still chuckling a bit under his breath as he described the main purpose behind creating the Binary Augmented Retro-Framing system. Both Loki and Bucky’s eyes got wider and they seemed frozen in the realization of what Anthony had managed to create. Bucky knew immediately he wanted to try it out and Loki realized it was probably created firstly to help the inventor deal with all the stresses and traumas he’d dealt with in his life.

It was ingenious, like many of his inventions were. It gave the god a jolt that raced up his spine at the knowledge this brilliant mind would be around for millenia to come (assuming they triumphed over Thanos). He knew he would do everything in his power to keep the Asgardians and Anthony alive.

There was a lull in the conversation that drew Loki back in to it to see Anthony settled back into the couch as Bucky continued.

“....... yeah. I…. I want to try that. It might not get the triggers out but…. If it’ll help with calming the Soldier and helping me with all the…. Guilt and stress….. And paranoia …..” He made a grunt and Loki could tell the man was berating himself for exposing his weakness. Anthony acted before he could even catch those amber eyes.

“Listen, you’ve been through hell. If we can learn to trust each other, I think I can help you. Even if I can’t erase the triggers…. Maybe….” At this moment, those warm eyes latched on to emerald ones asking a silent question.

Loki understood he was being consulted about his abilities and if magic might be able to help in this instance so he gave a nod and left everything up to Anthony. Inviting ANY of the Rogues back into his life would be all up to him. Loki refused to push or demand anything, though he had made it known how important larger numbers of enhanced beings on their side would help.

“.... maybe we might have another possibility too, to help you there I mean. Won’t know until we all meet though.”

Silence greeted Tony’s words and he wasn’t expecting the contemplation and then determination of the Winter Soldier to steel over Bucky’s features.

“I’ll leave tonight. Should take 3 days. I’ll text you at this number when I’m in Central Park.”

“Barnes, What are yo-” The screen went black as he stared at it and Loki only took a brief moment before he started chuckling.

“Oh the Captain will NOT like that at ALL!” His mirth at the coming chaos aside, he was watching Anthony closely and saw the minute shift when the inventor went from stunned to resigned. It stopped his outburst immediately. Was Anthony still afraid of the Soldier even after extending the olive branch?

Tony crossed his arms and looked deep in thought before finally seeming to shake himself as if coming out of the water.

“Yeah, I think I’d better have a couple more BARF sessions myself. Just… as a precaution. Saying you’re okay is one thing, wanting to patch things up is one thing…. Doing it is completely different.” FRIDAY Interrupted them at this point.

“Shall I start protocol 7729 Boss? Wouldn’t you like to finish your planning with Loki about the Council first?”

Loki watched as Anthony seemed to snap out of his thoughts and caught his eyes, turning a bit sheepish. He seemed to realize he had almost walked out of the room on the god when they were technically still in the middle of plotting.

“I…. Sorry Lokes. Too much going on at once…. “

Loki took one moment and then waved his hand to dismiss Anthony’s concern.

“It’s fine, go do what you need to. Perhaps we can speak of the council over a late dinner?”

Tony nodded absently and agreed before heading to the elevator to get to his workshop. Loki watched the man go and his curiosity made him reach out to the AI.

“FRIDAY? How long does a session usually last for him?” He stood and gathered the book he had left earlier this morning on the coffee table and brought it back to his room.

“Average time is 3 hours and 17 minutes Mr. Laufeyson.”

He paused looking over his guest room seeing nothing out of place, giving him nothing to occupy himself with.

“And the longest?”

“4 hours and 57 minutes.”

“Alright…..” He contemplated spending the time cooking a meal for his host, but quickly decided that would be a waste of his time without knowing exactly when he would be done. Instead he moved towards his small desk and waved a hand to produce his notebook and quills from his pocket dimension.

“If you would, make a reservation for your creator and myself somewhere he would like to eat, say 5 hours following the session… Use your judgement. I’m assuming he’s been treating himself recently without anyone else knowing….”

“You are correct. How does steak sound?” Loki smirked.

“Why are you asking me? I will eat whatever Anthony requires.”

“ **_Anthony?_ ** ” FRIDAY sounded absolutely irritating and…. Smug. Loki rolled his eyes.

“What would you prefer I call him?” Inside he cringed just slightly. He hadn’t called the inventor by his given name yet had he? They were allies, not friends yet… or were they? Perhaps he wanted them to be.

“Really doesn’t matter, as I’m stuck calling him Boss. ‘Tony’ just doesn’t roll off your tongue does it?” Loki snorted. Honest to goodness, this AI was something else. He had to agree with it...her though.

“You are correct. Tony is the name of a child. It is not very befitting your creator.” He thought to himself ‘Or a future God of Asgard’ before he settled in to brainstorm ideas for how they were going to raise his popularity level with the masses.

 

**/////-LATER THAT EVENING-\\\\\\\\\**

 

Tony had dragged himself up to the Penthouse tiredly to shower and revive his body somewhat when his baby girl interrupted his shuffle to inform him Loki had made a reservation at his favorite post session establishment and would be at his door to pick him up in 28 minutes.

The thought was…. Jarring a bit. The idea that Loki had orchestrated it with FRIDAY seemed…. Well, at the very least it woke him up a bit more and his previously overused nervous system began to put a quickness in his step.

He showered and dressed in record time. With jeans and a blazer over a band t-shirt, he at least felt more like himself as he waited by the elevator for Loki.

He was completely stunned to see the lithe raven haired man step off the elevator wearing an all black suit. You would think such a monochromatic fashion wouldn’t look that good with the very pale skin and black hair, but it did.

It really did.

Loki seemed to realize Tony was checking him out because he smirked at him just a bit before motioning to the opened door of said elevator extravagantly.

“Uh, wow, you clean up nice….” After a grueling session with BARF it seemed his brain to mouth filter was as non existent as his extensive vocabulary.

Loki ducked his head in acknowledgment  before shimmering light covered his features.

He suddenly had much shorter but no less wavy dark auburn hair…. And a goatee to go with it. The shirt under his jacket turned a pale blue and the emerald jewel tone of his eyes followed after.

He looked completely different, and yet he was unmistakable. Those cheekbones. That secretive smirk. Definitely 100% Trickster.

Tony could do nothing but stare and hum appreciatively.

Which he then had to hurry and mask because he didn’t want that smirk to turn all knowing.

“I suppose that’s a great way to go incognito, eh? Saves us time and a headache. Also, very cool by the way.”

Loki again nodded, except his newly blue eyes twinkled enough that Tony wasn’t sure he hadn’t been caught staring with more than scientific fascination regarding the illusion.  


Getting to the small italian cafe was easy. Teleporting to a shadowed area nearby so soon after his session made him very dizzy for a moment and he had to grab at Loki’s arm to steady himself. The vertigo passed relatively quickly, but it took long enough for Loki to reposition his hand so it looked more casual. Like…. He was going to lead Tony into the establishment all gentlemanly…. And didn’t that make Tony just a bit dizzy all on its own.

He was finally feeling more like himself as they moved up to the hostess but wasn’t fast enough to state his name. Loki did so in a calm and quiet voice, all polite and goddamn british sounding.

Before people could catch his surname, he gently slipped him hand off Loki’s elbow.

He received a quirked eyebrow and glance for it, but he wasn’t in the safety of his private table yet…. And who knew how many phones could be whipped out how fast….

He did feel a twinge of sadness at losing the contact though, even if the god was only trying to keep him steady on his feet.

Loki followed behind the inventor and the hostess to a quiet table off to the side. There was a beautiful blue stained glass looking lantern above their table that shimmered beautifully and lent the small space a very subdued and romantic light. As he pulled out his chair and unbuttoned his jacket so that he could sit, he had a fleeting moment of jealousy. If this was Anthony’s favored dining establishment, and it was so very romantic, he had to have brought lovers here.

He tried not to scowl at the thought.

Why did he care about that?

To Anthony and the waitress that come over, he looked to be contemplating the drink menu, but inside he was poking at all that he had learned about the man in the short time he had known him. How alike they were. How well they got along. How enjoyable bantering and even arguing was. Loki had no illusions at this point in his life. He knew he was unequivocally attracted specifically to men. The farther from an Aesir they looked, the better in his book. Compared to other midgardians, Anthony was of average statue and build…. Dark hair and eyes relatively normal for their race as well…. But it was his incredibly astute mind that drew Loki in first.

Thinking back on the previous night’s conversation, he had to realize he was in fact becoming enamored with the man. God, now. Yes, defeating Thanos was even more important now than it even was before. He would not lose a chance to make Anthony his in the coming years.

Looking at the inventor by the dancing light as he selected a wine for them, he realized it was not going to be as easy as simple seduction. There was too much at stake of course. He smiled politely as Anthony chatted with an older gentleman that had come to the table to say hello. The owner no doubt.

And then they were alone to peruse the menu and choose what they wanted. He did notice Anthony glancing at him now and then though.

“.... So, what do you recommend?”

Anthony gave his opinion and they ordered before Loki slid his chair slightly closer and  imperceptively flicked his fingers to create a sound muffling spell around them. Of course Anthony noticed.

“What was that?”

Loki had always spoken with his entire body. His posture and hands were very expressive more often than not, and at the moment he leaned forward in a conspiratorial fashion.

“So we may speak without others hearing. I have some thoughts on the Council and clearing my name… though you would probably have some good ideas as well.”

Loki winked. At him. Tony’s eyes grew round for a second but then he recovered.

“Yeah, I’ve created quite a few PR nightmares over the years…..”

“As I have dabbled in political perceptions over the last few hundred years…. I think figuring this out between us should be easy. No reason not to enjoy a nice evening out though, am I right?”

The salads and bread came before Tony could say anything and it was a blessing.

His brain had completely shut down with the thought that Loki may **_possibly_ ** be flirting with him. Well, not **_flirting_ ** the way he was used to it…. But he could only hope that this was more than a strictly friendly business dinner…. Regardless of how his past may have suggested otherwise.

“Right, so…. With Thor showing back up, maybe we can have him go to them and explain what Odin decreed. That both of you will be working with Earth to defend it and strengthen us….. I mean, I could go and speak with Thor if you’re worried about his political savviness.” Loki grinned like a shark as he watched the man butter a warm roll and chuckle at his own insinuation.

“You handling the main talking points is absolutely essential. He may have learned much in the last few years, but he would still not be quite as delicate with a volatile situation as you or I would be.” Loki reached across the small table to pull the bread basket to himself and began doing as Anthony had. He was aware of the man’s eyes on him as he went about preparing his own food but he chose to focus on their strategy first. Hopefully by the time their main course came they could be moving on to more pleasant topics.

“Okay…. So first step, get Thor on board and ok with being my backup. Second step, shock value? Tell them about the coming war? Why we actually need to listen to you?” Loki looked up just in time to see Anthony bite into his roll. A buttery flake of crust clung to the corner of his mouth and he quickly looked down at his own bread before agreeing.

Norns. Now that he was aware of his growing attachment to Anthony, how was he ever going to keep it under wraps until they defeated the Mad Titan? He knew from past experience, his infatuation would just grow until he either ran from it or took a chance and showed his hand. Usually he could trick and scheme his way to favor if he desired it enough….

He forced his mind back to task and nodded before starting on his salad. They both lapsed into quiet as they ate. Obviously Anthony was thinking hard while he ate because as they paused, he looked up slowly and uncertainty colored his gaze.

“Can you teach me about magic? Maybe help us figure out how we can shield against the stuff Thanos will be able to do?…...Can we use that as a prompt for the Council?”

Tony flinched at the frozen expression on Loki’s face and started to babble.

“You don’t-I mean, if you don’t want to that’s fine, you’re like the best mage in the universe right? Thought I would ask but you know, no big deal if you don’t want to…. Hell, I’ll probably be so outta my element I might not even be able to underst-”

“What?” Loki could only blink and try to force his brain working again. Anthony wanted to learn magic? From him?

Tony could feel himself warm with embarrassment as he opened his mouth to try to play it off but Loki shook his head slightly and his face softened just enough for Tony to pause.

“You… want me to teach you magic?” He seemed surprised so Tony just nodded.

“Won’t that work to endear you to the Council? Is it against the rules or something? To teach a human?”

Loki straightened up in his seat and leaned forward a bit.

“Technically, you are no longer strictly human. It would be perfectly acceptable to train you. I’m just….. I’ve studied under every mentor I could find in many of the realms, but I’ve never actually….. Taken on a student….. Or even knew anyone, especially a man, that wanted to learn.”

Tony was relaxing after his initial reaction, but the comment about men asking about magic stopped him cold. It was at this moment that their dinners arrived at their table and they waited until the waitress had left again before Tony caught Loki’s slightly confused gaze.

“What do you mean? Men don’t learn magic? Why wouldn’t they? It’s fucking awesome….” Loki’s expression turned open and awed as he held Tony’s gaze and the inventor scrambled to understand the reactions he was seeing.

Because his illusion was only over his hair, eyes and around his mouth, Loki knew from the fire under his skin that his it was blushing across his cheeks and crawling up his neck as he took a breath and avoided Anthony’s eyes.

“Magic is usually centered around healing…. Which is a womanly pursuit. Magic as I use it, was unheard of on Asgard. The population generally considered me an oddity and my battle magic a form of cheating……”

Tony could obviously tell the topic made Loki nervous but he was gobsmacked. Asgard was fucking stupid!

“What the hell…. I mean, vikings love blood and bashing right? I get that…. But it’s backwards. Having it at your back in a battle would be nothing but an advantage….”

Loki looked away to begin cutting up his Chicken Parmesan. To Tony it was obvious he was thinking…. Or maybe avoiding Tony’s statement.

In reality, Loki was trying to hide how Anthony’s opinion affected him. He’d always thought the same, yet he’d been fighting for any respect for centuries. Here the inventor was, giving him praise, asking to be mentored, even if it was a PR move, it caused warmth to bloom in his chest in a way he hadn’t felt often in his life. He took a deep breath to bury his emotions under a contemplative mask as he cut a small bite and tasted his food.

Anthony followed his lead and started to eat but still seemed confused.

“Vikings are more concerned with going down in a blaze then learning how to win themselves a longer lifespan.” He’d just lowered his utensils when Anthony’s hand reached out to grip his wrist suddenly. His eyebrows shot up as he looked to the man.

“They’re stupid. Magic’s amazing. You’re a kickass mage. Could you seriously teach me? Or at least try? That might be a perfect selling point. Let you join the Avengers as a consultant on magic and defense against the Titan. We can use Odin’s decree as something to fall back on, and you can say I’m the only person on the planet you will agree to train…. That way, well, they won’t try to make you train a freaking battalion”

Loki took another moment, but he suddenly broke into a blinding grin. He was ecstatic to have so much of Anthony’s interest. To have something as important to him as his magic be something Anthony appreciated so much as to ask to learn…. His joy was overwhelming, but he made himself tone his emotions down in the face of Anthony’s suddenly large eyes.

Tony could only think ‘Holy Shit!’ in the face of Loki’s gorgeous grin, his obvious happiness.

“I would be more than happy to train you Anthony….We will tell the Council we are going to work together to try to create something that will, if not stop him, then at least warn us of his approach. Between your technology and my spells, we should be able to make an early warning system for all of Midgard.”

Anthony.

Loki called him Anthony.

He could hear the undercurrent of happiness to it. It was a beautiful sound in the gods deep timbre. Hearing his name so spoken, made his breath catch and realization come that he was still holding on to the god’s wrist.

Ever afraid to overstep and screw this up, he gave a small squeeze and let go before turning back to his food with a small smile.

The rest of the meal passed in companionable silence, then debate over which realm had better desserts. Tony introduced Loki to chocolate covered cannoli, and judging by his face, Tony decided they would be coming back as often as they could get away of the tower.

Tony could only hope Thor arrived soon so the entire Council talks could get underway.

Not that that would stop them from starting first thing tomorrow with magic theory.

Though his mind was drained and overworked, the prospect of learning about magic and spending more time together with the god put Tony in the best mood he’d been in since Ross was thrown off the council.

True happiness had always been just out of reach for so long, to feel even this much of it was a wonder to both of them so neither wanted to jinx it.

They bid each other good night when they got back and went their separate ways. Tony to his workshop and Loki to his room to pull all of Frigga’s books he’d kept from his pocket dimension.

He needed to figure out what to show Anthony first and how to go about teaching him. To find the best way for him to understand. He realized he desperately wanted Anthony to understand magic… and him. Such openness and acceptance of what made Loki, Loki, should be rewarded.

And if he spent a good portion of his night imagining what a life could be like with the man at his side in the centuries to come, he could blame Anthony himself with his curiosity and wit.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit more of the Rogues and Steve losing his mind.... Some Rhodey being Rhodey, and Loki being Loki and Tony.... well, Tony is inviting the Winter Soldier into his home... What could go wrong?

**/////\\\\\\\\\NEW YORK/////\\\\\\\\\**

 

Surprisingly, learning magic theory was a lot of reading. Tony wasn’t that upset about it, but he still found himself distracted periodically by a phrase that just wasn’t even close to what his human brain could understand. In those instances, he’d put the book down, crack his back, and it would prompt Loki to cross the workshop floor to lean over his shoulder and see where he was getting hung up.

It was… nice. There really was nothing that made the god smile brighter than when Tony asked him a valid question. Quite a few times over the course of the next day and a half, Tony found his brain stuttering to a halt in the face of Loki’s brilliant smiles…. When Tony caught a tricky concept the grin was infectious and served to change the mage’s entire face.

Into Day Two, Loki suggested they meditate. Tony had never been one for that. He’d learned early on that he would much rather let his mind blank out and recharge by tinkering with small electronics… things that couldn't blow up in his face. Figuring out the inner workings of some problem Stark Industry R&D guys were having just helped him calm and focus himself.

He was just settling down onto the rug and big giant pillow Loki had conjured from his room and getting comfy when FRIDAY raised the lights from their lower setting and interrupted.

“Sorry Boss, I’ve got King T’Challa on the line for you, he says it’s urgent.”

All Tony could do was roll his eyes and stand back up. He’d known this was coming sooner rather than later, with the way Sergeant had ended the call the other night.

Loki watched Anthony go to sit back down at his desk to take the call and settled himself in. He was pretty certain there was no way the man would be able or willing to try to meditate after the call.

Part of him, the part that had relented and admitted to more than admiration for his host, sighed at the interruption. He would have loved to spend an hour watching Anthony’s face as he calmed his mind. Watching someone while they meditated was about as intimate as watching them as they slept. He was sure he would be able to hold off on the second, but saw no reason not to indulge himself with the first.

He’d seen many emotions on the face of the inventor after all. He was curious how relaxation and no stress would affect his features. Loki was betting he would look younger.

When the screen flared to life, Loki could see from the opposite side of the room, T’Challa sitting behind his desk looking stern. Perhaps a bit worried.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of your call your Highness?” Loki could easily hear the sarcasm. He grinned and lounged back to watch.

“Mr. Stark, I wish to inform you that Sergeant Barnes has fled Wakanda. I thought it best to warn you…. As you so demonstrated you knew where he was this whole time.”

Tony cocked an eyebrow and put his chin on his hand.

“Thanks for the warning. I suppose we can’t warn the Council without acknowledging the very real fact of you harboring said fugitive huh?” Tony just wanted to goad the man a bit into saying something else, but before T’Challa could respond he heard a Dora yell something and a door bang against a wall.

T’Challa stiffened and did not look amused.

Tony could guess what was happening before he even heard the voice.

“Bucky’s gone! T’Challa, I need a jet. He can’t have gotten too far I was just talking to him an hour ago.”

Tony was very careful not to let any of his internal twitching show on his face.

Steve. Acting like the ‘only one life matters' Rogers…. Again. Demanding attention, resources, and pulling out the authoritative voice and total disrespect of his benefactor. He wanted to smirk at the way T’Challa’s face clouded in anger before he smoothed it back out into indifference.

“As you can see, you have interrupted a meeting. Please escort Mr. Rogers back to his quarters. And no. Before you start your speech again. I warned all of you what would happen if you left the safety of the palace. He chose to leave. It is not our problem anymore. You will not be granted a ship to run off looking for him so that the world can figure out where you were.”

Tony couldn’t help the small smirk then. Yeah, it wasn’t too much fun babysitting the giant macho man was it? He caught the kings eye briefly enough to nod.

“My apologies for the interruption, but I believe we are finished anyway. Have a good day.” He could tell T’Challa was omitting his name because he didn’t want Steve to know they were talking.

Oh well.

“You too King Kitty.” He grinned at the flash of irritation in the dark eyes that flicked back to his before the room was spinning and a very large and puffed up Steve was taking up the entire frame. Steve didn’t even register why T’Challa would be talking to Tony, that much was obvious by the way he immediately latched on to Tony and started begging him to help. Tony shared one suffering look with T’Challa before he cut Steve off.

“No. You are no longer part of the Avengers until you sign the Accords. Barnes hasn’t signed either so technically we can’t divert resources or funds to look for him. Sorry not sorry Steve-O. Not my circus anymore and definitely not my monkeys.”

With a flick of his wrist the screen went black and slid back into the desktop.

Damn his shoulders were tight though. Stress…. Ugh.

He took a few moments to settled himself before looking up and finding Loki with a soft smile on his face, clearly enjoying the show. Something that had been coiled to strike seemed to soften at the sight and he tried not to think about THAT while he got up and came back to the pillows.

“So…. now we try to meditate?” Loki huffed a amused breath and nodded.

“Yes, we meditate.”

“Cool."  
  


Tony took longer than he thought to quiet his mind but in the end he managed a few minutes of actual peace and introspection. Loki didn’t think he would have been capable of it, what with the way he was bound to be thinking about Rogers and Barnes.

Before they knew it, they were heading up to the Penthouse for dinner of the take out variety and Col. Rhodes was dropping by with some news.

He made his way carefully over to the couches and sat down while Tony made him a plate. Just because he hadn’t known his friend was stopping by, didn’t mean he wouldn’t happily share.

As they ate in relative peace and quiet, Loki kept glancing at Rhodes legs. It was blatant enough that Tony had to inquire about it.

“Hey Lokes, what-ah, I mean, Is there something you can do with those braces? With magic I mean?”

Rhodey kind of stopped with his fork halfway to his mouth and stared at Tony like he had a second head before turning his gaze to the god. Who looked contemplative.

“Well….. I could see about healing the injury as much as I can, so the pain levels could be more tolerable. I noticed you flinched on the way in Colonel.”

Rhodey had been around enough to be somewhat relaxed in the god’s presence so he thought about everything for a minute and took a deep breath.

“Yeah, pain levels could be lower… If you can do anything about that…. I’d appreciate it.”

Tony watched Loki nod and go back to his food. It wasn’t even 20 minutes later that he was kneeling by the feet of his friend and running his hands over the space around his legs.

Both Tony and Rhodey watched with rapt attention as the light they associated with Loki’s magic reflected off his palms and passed over his legs up and then back down as Loki moved. His face was drawn in total concentration, but Tony kind of figured that was normal. If magic had started out mainly as a healing art, then using magic in healing probably had to be spot on and absolutely perfect to work correctly.

After only ten minutes, Loki moved back and pulled himself up onto the couch next to Anthony and crossed one ridiculously long leg over the other.

“It is done. Try walking now Rhodes.”

Tony shared a look with the pilot before he lurched to his feet. His surprised expression gave way to a grin as he started moving around the living area, slowly and then faster. Tony couldn’t help but turn and grin brightly at Loki.

Loki had been watching with a critical eye but sensed Anthony looking at him and turned just in time to catch the open admiration on his face. It made his heart stutter then beat an awkward quickening rhythm that only seemed to slam against his ribs as the inventor wrapped a hand around his wrist in a replay of the touch he gave at the restaurant. Loki’s smile which had been frozen on his face suddenly turned a bit more pleased at the wordless praise.

Rhodey was so busy focusing on how much better his legs felt and how much easier it was to move around, that he didn’t catch the two sharing a moment on the couch. By the time he’d made his circuit of the room, Tony had let go and they were both now watching Rhodes.

“Fucking hell man, this is amazing!” Anthony’s elbow flew out and connected with the gods side as he snickered.

“See? Told ya. A-mazing.”

Rhodes could see this had been brought up before based on the slight tint of pink to Loki’s cheeks at the comment and for a second he thought it was cute, in a slightly sarcastic way, but cute none the same. He could just tell Tony was gearing up to say more and possibly embarrass the god when he decided to show a bit of mercy.

“Most definitely. By the way, the reason I’m here? The Council reached out and offered for me to be the official liaison for the East Coast Avengers based here in New York. Meaning…..” He looked at Tony who was staring at him before he sprung from the couch and grabbed him in a hug. Loki wasn’t jealous exactly, he knew they had been friends for more than half of their lives after all.

He just wished one day to gain that kind of easy camaraderie with Anthony.

That news was cause for further celebration and they all indulged in cocktails and music, Loki regaling them with tales of Thor’s mishaps and ridiculous misadventures over the years.

They were all laughing and enjoying themselves and of course something had to just ruin it.

“Boss, I’ve got a message for you from the dark web. It seems to be Romanov.”

Everyone stilled before Tony sighed and rolled his eyes. Hard.

“Anyone wanna bet me it’s Natashalie doing Steve’s work and trying to grill me about why I wont lend them bottomless bank accounts to go off to find their soldier again?”

Loki scowled and sat down. Rhodey shook his head.

“No way I’d take that bet. Let’s see what it says….”

Tony let FRIDAY display the text across the air between them on a haloscreen. They all watched as she broke the encryption and the message became clear.

“Tony. Please we need your help. Bucky is missing and Steve fears the worst. I know things are not ideal at the moment between everyone, but he’s innocent and a part of the team. Can’t you put your feelings aside to try to find him before someone else does that wants to hurt him again? If you don’t want to do it, just ask FRIDAY to find him and send us the info. You don’t have to be involved at all, but please… help.”

Everyone sat there staring at the text. The letters floating in the air and mocked Tony’s drive to help everyone else. She was trying to appeal to his hero complex…. Well, joke was on her, he’d already reached out to Barnes and he knew where he would be in a day or so.

“She has no idea I’m the reason he bailed.” Loki watched with Rhodey as Tony shut the screen down with a flick of his fingers and stomped over to push himself between them on the couch.

“What do you think they’ll do when they realize he beat them home and acted without an all-clear from the Council?”

“Does it really matter? The man can make his own decisions. Obviously, your offer intrigued him enough, or his confinement with the Rogues was that awful that he ran at the first halfway decent reason given to him….” Loki commented.

Rhodey was quiet for a minute. Tony had totally forgotten that he’d hadn't told Rhodey that Barnes had called.

“Sooo….. About this. You know I put a note in the Sergeants folder…. Well, he called me two days ago.”

His best friend slowly turned and drilled into him with a serious stare.

“Don’t be mad Platypus…. I…. um… Well, you know how I feel and I just told him I realized he wasn’t responsible. Then Loki and I told him we might have a way to get rid of the triggers….. And he just went all stoic and said he’d be here in 3 days and hung up! I couldn’t get the phone to connect again, you have to believe me!” Tony put all his drama skills to use and flopped his arms over Rhodey, hanging off his chest and begging him with big round eyes.

It was comical but Rhodey wasn’t laughing. Loki was staring at them both a bit wide eyed.

With his convincing not doing the trick and catching Loki’s face (who he assumed was appalled by the outburst of familiarity) he untangled himself and looked sheepishly at Rhodey.

Loki of course, was the farthest from appalled he could be. Why couldn’t he ever go slowly into anything? Why was he always all or nothing? He’d just realized he was enamored with the once mortal only two days ago and already he could feel the slight tightening and ache in his chest seeing how easily Anthony gave affection to someone else.

Rhodey took a bit more groveling and convincing but in the end, he decided he would spend the night in the guest room so that he could be around all day tomorrow. Available for the moment Barnes called back.

In the end, Tony spent the later hours of the evening curled up with his head on Rhodey’s lap reading the next magic journal Loki lent him, while Loki propped himself at the farthest end of the couch. He’d crossed his legs and was meditating quietly unless Tony had a question.

Rhodey was using the tablet to catch up on his emails and general paperwork to get the ball rolling on his new appointment.

It was incredibly domestic and Tony caught himself more than once, mind wandering to the mage so close yet untouchable. He wanted to stretch and wiggle himself down a bit so he could touch both men… Because he was a tactile person damn it…. He loved to touch his friends. Happy, Pepper and Rhodey could all attest to that.

Loki had quietly and easily managed to get himself on that list now, but he didn’t want to rock the boat. The mage had expressed no interest in initiating friendly touching. It was usually always Tony doing to shoulder pats, and wrist squeezes. He knew Loki tolerated it, but he didn’t want to be an annoyance.

They all went their own ways around 11pm.

Rhodes actually went to his room to sleep.

Tony disappeared to his workshop determined to only be there for a bit, but ended up doing another 3 hours with BARF. Every little bit would count once he was face to face with Barnes again.

Loki went to his room but laid awake until he could sense Anthony going back up to the Penthouse for the night.Then he let himself drift into a light slumber praying that adding the soldier would work out in their favor.

  
  
  


**/////\\\\\\\\\WAKANDA/////\\\\\\\\\**

  
  


Steve was a seething ball of nerves. Tony had flat out refused to help them. T’Challa was acting the same way, unable to see how serious the situation was, and unwilling to compromise on his earlier terms.

Nat had hidden away for a little bit and came back stony faced. Apparently she had a way to reach Stark’s AI but the message was read and not responded to.

He was going to rip out his damn hair!

Clint and Scott had already packed up their belongings, relying on their military training to be ready to leave at a moments notice. Steve was a little bitter they weren’t more affected by Bucky going missing. Sam was mostly packed and Steve appreciated the calming voice that helped ground him when he felt ready to climb the walls. Nat was pretty much a silent shadow in the room….he knew she could drop everything she had just to pick up anew somewhere else, so basically everyone was ready to run the second they got approval to go back to the states.

It didn’t help the nerves churning in his gut thinking about what could possibly be happening to his best friend while they all sat here on their hands.

  
  


**_/////\\\\\\\\\CENTRAL PARK\\\\\\\\\/////_ **

  


Bucky had managed to slip back into his training and easily made his way from Wakanda to the states. He may have been cramped up with a stiff…. Everything, from packing himself in that small crate on a ship to cross the ocean, but at least he was here.

And now that he remembered more, he knew he’d done worse to cross a border.

He took a while to prowl around in the early morning hours, swiping clothing that would let him blend in better with the NYC crowd, but by the time the morning commute began, he was at least inconspicuously dressed and melting into the busy streets like a ghost.

He spent the majority of the morning traveling around the park, staking out vantage points and deciding what direction Stark might come at him from. He chose his position carefully.

The call went out around lunch hour so there would be the maximum amount of people in the area. It connected halfway through the second ring.

“Mornin- err Afternoon I suppose.”

“It’s Barnes.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured that.” Bucky could just about hear the eye roll.

“So…. I guess I’ll leave now and see you in a few? Where exactly are you?”

Bucky had a moment of unease but stomped it down and replied that he was near the sled dog statue.

“Okay, that works then, I’m going to set up a distraction to make it easier for me to get out there in public to meet you. Be there in 15 minutes.”

This time it was Tony who hung up on him.

  


Back at the Penthouse, Rhodey was trying to talk to Tony for the millionth time about safety measures and Loki was torn between laughing at the audacity of this entire plan and just teleporting the Soldier to them to save everyone the hassle.

In the end, it was Anthony’s excitement to get out of the tower, which, if he was honest, he felt as well. It had been 3 days since their dinner and he was starting to feel confined.

The three split up as they left the lobby. Tony and Rhodey went for a stroll, tweeting and hashtagging as they went. It worked for gaining them the distraction they needed as a nondescript man made his way to the Balto statue.

Barnes was of course, up in the limbs of a tree very close and could tell the man hovering was NOT Tony Stark and he dug his phone out again and called him.

The strangers phone rang and he answered. Right before Bucky’s eyes, the man spoke in Tony’s voice.

“I’ve got a decoy out so I couldn’t come looking like myself. Sorry. Where are you anyway?”

Bucky raised an eyebrow and watched the man flick his gaze around the area before he made up his mind and dropped from the tree.

He hadn’t known much at all about Tony before they fled for Wakanda, but he had gotten plenty of opportunities to search him on youtube and google. He also had the up close memories of his face to use as reference for the way the man zeroed in on him and his eyebrow raised…. And corner of his mouth twitched up.

That was definitely Tony Stark. It just didn’t look like him.

Smart.

He made his way over and decided to look like he was reading the plaque as well.

“Tree huh?… Good vantage point.” Tony admitted.

Bucky nodded towards Tony’s presence and allowed himself to add,

“Smart plan, but who do you have running as the decoy? I’d think New York City would be good at spotting fakes....”

Tony tucked his hands into his pockets and rocked on his heels. Bucky could tell he wanted to talk but also wanted to hold something back and it made him nervous.

“Well, my decoy is spot on I’ll have you know. Used a friend of mine, a shapeshifter if you must know.”

Bucky stared at him trying to figure out if he was serious or not. Who had a shapeshifter in their back pocket and was available in 3 days or less to do this little performance? He hadn’t seen or heard of any such person in Stark’s employ from Clint or Natasha, and that was something neither would have forgotten to mention.

Tony was watching and could see the skepticism on Barnes’ features. He decided he needed to give him a bit more background.

“Well…. Technically, he’s a mage with quite a few special abilities…. He’s the one that has some experience altering someone’s mind. He’s also agreed to be our last ditch effort if my machine doesn’t take care of your triggers.”

They both sort of hovered there at the statue for a few moments trying to shore up their courage. It helped immensely that Tony hadn’t come out to meet him in the suit.

“So…. hungry? I’m ordering pizzas on the way back. What do you like?”

Bucky watched as Tony turned sort of away from him and looked back over his shoulder.

He couldn’t really decide if it was a ploy or genuine. Why the hell would the guy give him his back when he’d killed his parents?

Some of his thoughts must have shown on his face because the average looking man blinked and straightened.

“I guess I have to say it again…. They were not your fault. Come with me and see if BARF can help you. You’re free to leave after. It’s not like I’m going to demand you stay or try to lock you up. I imagine Steve and the others will be cleared to return stateside in a few days. So…. there’s that for you to look forward to.”

Without a backwards glance the man started walking off and it only took a second for Bucky to force his body in motion to follow.

Almost as soon as they entered the elevator, there was a shimmer and a shout as two people appeared. Bucky had a knife out in half a second and Tony was frozen with a second knife aimed under his ribcage. It took a moment for Loki to calm Rhodey down.

“That was fucking **_awful._ ** I am **_never_ ** letting you do that to me, ever again, you maniac!”

“It is entirely not my fault your constitution is so weak. Oh look, we’re playing show and tell.”

Between one breath and the next all of Bucky’s weapons were up on the ceiling as if they were magnetized.

Tony gave a slightly nervous chuckle as Rhodey grabbed a handrail and leaned on it. Loki just continued to stare openly at Bucky. Tony kind of thought it looked neutral or maybe curious….. But in the way a jaguar is. Curious until it decides it wants to eat you. Suddenly the elevator slammed into a sudden stop.

“Boss, Do you need me to lock down the Penthouse and call the authorities?”

Bucky’s eyes narrowed but Tony just sighed deeply like his AI was trying to kill him.

“No Baby Girl, we already told you. This is important, and no one is going to be attacking anyone else.” He gave all three of the other men a stern look. Loki scoffed but all the weaponry clattered to their feet. Barnes was still frozen trying to assess the situation. Rhodey still looked a bit pale.

“Whatever you say, Boss.” She replied as she started their ascension again.

Tony had a feeling it was going to be a very long evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! I give up trying to stick to my plot outline! Every time I write a chapter, no matter how much I cram into it, it still doesn't cover everything I wanted it to so at this point, I think I'm estimating 17 chapters.... By the time I get there the new total might be more like 25 LOL. This fic was supposed to be SHORT.


	9. Memories still cut deeply

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony uses BARF and Loki is blindsided by more similarities that still make his heart ache just a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Anachronismstellar for helping me decide on which memory Tony was going to show everyone.

Things were still incredibly tense as they filed off the elevator. Tony literally made a B-line straight to the bar and Loki followed,fd blocking Barnes from having a eye line of Tony’s back. Rhodes walked over to the couch with no pain in his movements which split Bucky’s focus.

He found himself trailing after the Colonel and studying his posture and stride.

Tony and Loki shared a look as they watched Rhodey sit down and Barnes follow him.

The soldier didn’t actually sit, but after Tony got a drink for both himself and the god, they wandered over as well and flopped down on the loveseat.

“So…. I can give you your own floor for now so you can have a space to yourself after a BARF session. Do you have any questions before I introduce you to the program?”

Tony sipped on his drink as he watched Bucky contemplate this…. And turn to look at Rhodey again asking without words. Rhodey, for all his nerves about Tony being around Barnes alone, seemed to square his shoulders and launch into a bit of an explanation.

“Wakanda isn’t the only place that fixes people.” Bucky didn’t move a muscle as Rhodey looked at his new arm, mostly hidden under a long sleeve shirt and glove. 

“Between Tony developing the new kind of braces that sync with the nervous system and Loki working some healing magic on the severed spinal cord, I’m pretty good.” To prove it, he crossed his legs. It wasn’t as fluid as it would’ve been before the fall, but it was still impressive when you realized the man actually HAD severed his spinal cord a month ago.

Hearing this, everyone watched Barnes suck in a breath and eye Loki.

“I have no idea who you are. You weren't part of the team before?”

Both Tony and Loki flashed a grin that looked remarkably similar before Loki nodded.

“You are correct. I came to earth in the aftermath of Siberia.”

Something changed behind Bucky’s eyes at that mention and his eyebrows drew together as he swung his gaze then to Tony and let a bit of guilt leak through.

“I am sorry. I have no way to make that up to you. I know you must have been seriously injured…. And if I had been in my right mind I would have insisted we didn’t just leave you there…..” Obviously this fact more than anything else bothered Bucky the most as it was a cardinal rule for his earlier years in the military and even before that…. When he’d have to watch out for and rescue a scrawny ‘never back down’ Steve.

Bucky tried not to flinch as he noticed Tony’s eyes narrow just the slightest bit and fix on his face intently. After a few tense moment, he nodded and shrugged one shoulder.

“It is what it is. I had someone watching my back and I didn’t even know it.” Saying that, his eyes turned toward Loki and the god was gifted with a slow genuine smile. Tony must have realized before that Loki hadn’t always been watching him specifically…. And the fact that the god showed up in time to save him was a miracle in itself because that gaze held weight. 

Loki took a deep breath and swallowed. The inventor really didn’t know how near that rescue almost became a funeral. Someday….. Someday he might tell him. For now though he just returned the slight smile and nodded.

Rhodey was tapping away on the tablet and announced FRIDAY had ordered the pizzas and they would be there in 30 minutes.

That seemed to break the moment between the two on the couch and Tony looked up at Barnes.

“So, 30 minutes. I could run BARF for myself so you can see some of how it works. If you want a look before you test drive….” Bucky’s eyes widened a bit and Loki and Rhodey turned to stare at Tony.

He waved a hand to dismiss them.

“Nothing really traumatic, just to show the Sergeant what he’ll be seeing… how real it looks yadda yadda….”

Slowly Barnes nodded and the inventor reached over for the tablet and began tapping away furiously for a few seconds.

The lights dimmed almost immediately and Tony reached into a box sitting on the coffee table. It had what looked like glasses that were lighting up on the side in blue. They looked stylish and like sporty sunglasses.

Tony stuck them on his head and closed his eyes as the program started and went through its sync up to his hippocampus. Bucky and Loki watched intently looking for any sign of discomfort but none was present. Bucky leaned forward with his elbows on his knees…. He couldn’t get over how serene Stark looked. For something that was screwing with his brain (of which Bucky had ample experience with) it seemed to cause him no physical pain!

Everything tinted the light blue of the reactor for a moment and then the air in the room seemed to condense with little blue particles. In reality it was the hologram projection blowing out from the glasses to fill the space of the living room. Loki could do nothing but spare openly at what the inventor had created. It was as real as one of his illusions and he had no qualms about thinking of Anthony as mastering his realm’s version of magic. Another similarity. 

The room changed a bit, it took the dimensions of a sitting room of sorts in what looked to be a colonial style home. There was a blond wisp of a woman at the grand piano and an unruly mop of brown hair on the child next to her on the bench. 

Carefully she began playing slowly and Bucky and Loki strained to hear the quiet murmured encouragement of the woman as she spoke. The language was in Italian but both of the men in the room could decipher it plainly enough.

This was a patient mother prodding her child to learn a hard concept. The language was advanced enough that Bucky assumed Tony had to have been learning it along with english from the cradle…. He didn’t look older than six years old.

Loki slowly and carefully slid through the unoccupied space so that he could see the illusion faces better and was startled a bit at how much Tony and his blond mother reminded him of himself and Frigga. She was the one after all that had discovered his latent abilities with magic and fostered them from an early age…

Everyone in the room watched for a few minutes as the young boy adapted, tested, learned and excelled at a piece of music that wasn’t exactly easy. His smile was excited and his mother returned it with her own indulgent and proud glow. They had just begun another piece and started to accompany it with their voices, high and clear in a hauntingly beautiful italian when a man Bucky could scarcely connect with his memory of Howard strode through the doorway.

“What do you think you’re doing Maria?” The man swaggered into the room like he was inconvenienced and in a hurry before he glanced down sternly at his son.

“Nothing dear, just showing Anthony how to play the piano, it is such a lovely piece and it’s a shame I’m the only one that can enjoy it….” Her hands had immediately retreated from the keys in haste though and folded into her lap. Young Tony was looking up at her face but his gaze jerked sideways as his father leaned down around him and dropped the cover on the keys.

“You’ll make us late to the Charity Gala for the Foundation with your dawdling. Go finish getting ready.” Loki and Barnes could do little but stiffen at the dismissal of the hardened voice and watch as Tony’s mother got up and didn’t ‘hurry’ exactly, but made her way out of the room in quickly. Pausing at the doorway to look back at her son, she looked slightly worried but then turned and vanished as she hit the barrier of the hologram.

Loki felt frozen because he had plenty of experience with that stern expression. That twitch of the facial muscles that spoke of barely concealed disgust. Yet, the god could not look away as the man bent down to level a very grown up stare at the child.

“Playing the piano is a waste of your abilities. Your mother can afford such luxuries because I provide for her by using my hands to create marvels for the world. You are going to be as I am. You already have the gift of intelligence. Don’t waste it on something as fickle and womanly as music and art. It’s not befitting a Stark man…” He paused to take a breath and settled his heavy hands on Tony’s small narrow shoulders before he ended with. “Stark men are made of iron. Don’t you forget it. Now, go let Jarvis know we will be leaving and occupy yourself in his quarters if you’re bored. I don’t want to come home and find you’ve snuck into my lab again. Do you hear me?”

“Yes sir.” came a small voice before the child slid by the man carefully and walked fast out of the room.

With the child Tony leaving the room, the entire illusion broke apart into tiny dots of blue again. 

The playful ding of the elevator broke through the cloud of confusing emotions Bucky felt at watching the scene and feeling an echo of the people he had known in his youth. He still had a few huge chunks of his past missing, specifically his family life and his sisters but he remembered Howard. Though he didn’t remember him like that. 

Rhodey got up and wandered to the cart that was laden with pizza boxes in the open elevator. 

Loki stood frozen near the couch as Tony shut the program down. Bucky could only conclude Loki must have had a very complicated childhood as well, but was similarly affected by seeing some of those memories.

Both soldier and god felt gifted to have been trusted to see such a tender obviously loved memory between mother and son. Both also felt discomforted by the interactions between father and son. 

If Barnes was at all on the fence, he wasn’t anymore. Yeah, even bad guys probably loved their moms but…. The fact that Tony had chosen that to share just…. It hit Bucky like a punch to the gut. He wanted to apologize again for the death of his mother even though he’d been forced to carry out the act.

Loki was unusually quiet during their late lunch but Bucky took note on the fact that both the Colonel and Loki sat on each side of the billionaire on the couch. If he hadn’t had Tony’s open expression to go by, he would have assumed he was still being singled out. It wasn’t that. He could tell easily that the other two were only sitting close to offer physical nearness and not a united front towards a threat.

Honestly, he would always be a threat to everyone.

He had to get rid of the triggers if he could. He’d been under the impression this BARF program would be as invasive and painful as ‘the chair’. He was wrong. He found himself itching to start.

Before they finished their pizza, Tony had told him to ask the AI for directions to his floor and handed over the glasses (which he held like precious jewels in his flesh hand very carefully). The other three were staying in the Penthouse living area to go over exactly how they were going to get Loki his pardoned status and begin the PR circus that would be their reveal of the coming war and Thanos.

They spent hours shooting down various things and solidifying their viewpoints and plans for how to deal with rabid reporters like Christine Everhart but it all had to be addressed.

When Thor finally showed up that evening, they had a plan of attack for the following day and went about laying it out for the thunder god. Tony also roped Pepper in to help him set up the type of press conference he wanted with enough of his more trusted journalists in it and a healthy mix of blogs and tv shows. He wanted to reach as many people as possible with the broadcast.

He left reaching out to the council to Rhodey as he was better with their bureaucratic bullshit than he was.

It was nearing an hour that could still be called a late dinner, 8:30 wasnt that late… when a very exhausted soldier stumbled off the elevator and joined them. He never said anything and was staring at a fixed point in space in front of him, but they all helped to order in something simple and get him fed. If he had been using BARF that entire time, it was longer than Tony had ever used it in a single setting before.

It was easy for him to enlist Loki to help him get Barnes back to his floor and tucked in as best they could for the night. 

Tony didn’t notice anything different about their interactions together, but for Loki? He was more sure than ever before that he and the inventor would end up together if they survived what was to come.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> As always, any critique is welcome and appreciated! I LOVE comments on what you think of how I write the characters and what you think they'll do next! Feel free to suggest reactions because I might flavor some things towards what my readers really want if it goes along with my plot.
> 
> There WILL be romance, bromance, BAMF-ness, and karma slapping a bitch in spangled tights. There will probably be a bit of smut too..... because it's Tony and Loki. Come on LOL <3
> 
> (This was supposed to be short!!! LMAO)


End file.
